Reverse Tide
by Kitsune Foxfire
Summary: Short story inspired by Mountain97's "Kill the Rabbit". Older Ace is starting to think that maybe next time, he should really look and not touch ancient ruins when he finds himself on the East Wind. Well, at least now he knows what that one character meant now. Marked as complete but updated sporadically.
1. Chapter 1

**_Kitsune here with something a little different for you all. This my readers, is a oneshot based off of / inspired by 'Kill the Rabbit' by Mountain97. Mountain97 was nice enough to give me the go-ahead to write this plot-bunny, so a BIG thanks for that. For those of you who have read Kill the Rabbit, I am aware that this oneshot is -not- cannon to that story. For those of you who have not read the story, you should go give it a try, people. Also, thanks to Masked Bard of Chaos for Beta-reading this for me!_**

**_Question of the chapter: "What's your favorite type of candy?" Mine is those new raspberry m&m's right now and Cadburry Creme Eggs._**

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_"Good. Now, I'm going to turn around and walk towards you. Keep your eyes on the stone. If anything changes, let me know immediately." Ace turned around slowly and began walking away from the old stone. Thatch kept his eyes focused on it, watching for even the slightest alteration. He could see the drop of Ace's blood on the stone, and it began to slide down the handprint, but other than that, everything was still. Ace was maybe eight steps away when his blood touched the character. He doubled over instantly and there was a flash of white light._**Kill the Rabbit****, Chapter 7.**

Ace watched Thatch's eyes, refusing to look back at the stone. He was almost to his friend when Thatch's eyes widened ever so slightly, and Ace knew he was out of time. He felt a sudden pulling feeling right behind his navel, so intense it doubled him over. He wasn't sure if the white light was because of that, or if the stone had done something. He felt himself being pulled backwards, and the last thing he saw was Thatch's terrified expression.

"Ace! Ace, where are you?" Someone was calling him. It didn't sound like Thatch, but his groggy mind insisted that he knew that voice. He groaned, trying to roll over. His back was pressed against a hard surface, making the task impossible. Ace tried to figure out where he was, ignoring the pounding in his head. _That's right, I was pulled towards the stone. Must have hit my head or something._

With a groan he sat, taking no notice of the hard surface under him at first. He felt his skull, feeling a solid knot on the back of his head before risking opening his eyes. Squinting, he saw that was on a ship. "What the...?" He could hear people calling out for him as footsteps shook the deck. Had he ended up back on the Moby Dick?

A voice called in panic, closer than before."Ace! This isn't funny!" He knew that voice, it was a voice that did not belong on the ship, not the Moby Dick. A figure appeared, rounding the corner. Ace blinked up owlishly in shock. The light was behind him, glinting off red hair. Behind him, the flag Ace remembered flapped in the breeze.

"Before you say anything..." Ace grinned up at the man, "This _really_ isn't my fault, Shanks."

Shanks glared down at him, "_What_ isn't your fault? Who are you, and how the hell did you get on my ship?"

"What the hell do you mean, 'Who are you'? I know it's been a long time, but I didn't expect you to forget me. That's cold." He stood, crossing his arms over his chest. Shanks had aged well in the last few years since Ace had seen him. He didn't look older at all. Something about that bothered Ace.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. Now, where is Ace? You took him, didn't you?"

"Wha...?" The tablet, it had said something about ten years. He was on the _East Wind_ and Shanks hadn't aged a day, in fact he looked _younger_ than Ace remembered. He didn't recognize _Ace_. _Ten years ago, that was right around the time that..._"Ah. Shit. Oyaji is going to kill me."

"Not if I kill you first." Ace did not like the dangerous glint in the man's eyes as he drew his sword and pointed it at him. "Now. Where is Ace?_"_

He couldn't say he was surprised by the reaction, and really, he didn't know how to answer that. If they'd swapped places instead of him subsuming the younger Ace, he'd be with Thatch. Of course, that meant he was going to be on a ship with Hare, but he had to trust his friends would keep him...the younger him...away from the marine. "The kid's safe!"

"And why should I believe you? Who the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm, er..."'

"ACE!" he winced at the high pitched sound. If anything could convince him he'd somehow gone back into the past, it was the short mop of black hair barreling at him followed closely by Benn who was apparently trying to catch the boy.

"Sorry, Captain, he got away from me. Turned my back for a second and he was gone." the tall man said before eyeing the stranger on the deck carefully. "Who's this?"

Shanks quickly grabbed Luffy one handed and held him back, "Easy there. Don't want you getting too close to that guy, Luffy. That's a good question. One I was about to get an answer to."

Big dark brown eyes looked at him before blinking in confusion and looking up at the red haired pirate captain, "What are you talking about, Shanks? That's Ace!"

"No, I'm not."

"No, he's not."

Luffy looked back and forth between the two before pouting, obviously confused. He tugged futilely in Shanks' grasp, trying to reach Ace while the pirate captain passed him over to his first mate. "Get the kid out of here. Our visitor and I...need to have a little chat."

"NO! Leave Ace alone!"

Ace just sighed at the younger version of his brother, "It's fine, Luffy. Just do as the captain says."

"Na-uh. You'll just disappear again, Ace! Why are you and Shanks fighting? Is it because you got so tall? How did you get all grown-up anyway?"

Shanks cut in, "You know, I bet if you ask really nicely, Benn will take you to go get something to eat."

"FOOD!" the boy was off towards the galley with Benn casting a wary look over his shoulder as he followed.

The murderous glint was back, "Now, I believe you were about to tell me who you are? _And what you did to Ace?"_

Now that he'd had some time to think, Ace readily provided an answer, "I'm Thatch. As for what happened to Ace, I told you already, I didn't do it."

"No," Corrected Shanks, holding his sword up to Ace, "You said it 'wasn't my fault' not 'I didn't do it'. Now, who are you, really?"

"Thatch! I told you, my name is Thatch!" The lie flowed easily, it wasn't the first time he'd pretend to be his friend.

"Don't lie to me." The sword pressed against his chest, "I've met Thatch of the Whitebeard pirates. And unless he's had a complete makeover, you are not him."

Ace gulped, "Crap. He joined young, didn't he? Don't suppose you'd buy that I was Marco, either, huh?"

"The Whitebeard's don't take kindly to impersonators. Particularly the kind that kidnaps small children. Newgate has a thing about kids, you see. You're from the Marines, aren't you?"

"What?! NO! I'm not a Marine, damnit! I'm a pirate, just like you! Don't insult me like that, Shanks." He pushed the sword away, "And I didn't kidnap anyone! Oyaji would have my head if I even _thought_ about it! Hell, so would Gramps! How could you even suggest that, Shanks?"

"Then tell me, Pirate, where is Ace?!"

"He's fine!" Ace snapped back, "He's probably with the others."

"What others?"

"The other members of my crew. At least, that's where _I_ was before I ended up here." He pushed past Shanks and began to pace, not noticing the man's eyes widen slightly at the tattoo on his back. ""I don't really know how to explain this, because I'm not exactly sure what happened myself. We were on an island, exploring, you know? There were these ruins, and I was _trying_ to figure out what they said, but something went wrong, and next thing I knew, I was here and you're yelling at me. Oyaji is _so_ going to kill me. I'm dead."

"So you're telling me that Ace is with the Whitebeard pirates?"

Ace blinked at him, coming to a halt, "Huh? How'd you know that?"

Shanks sheathed his sword, before pointing at Ace, "Well, could have something to do with the mark on your back, stranger. That and I don't know anyone else on the seas that goes by 'Oyaji'. Looks like I'll be getting in touch with Whitebeard to get the kid back. I'll have to let him know we've got one of his son's as well, I guess."

"Er...I don't think that would be such a good idea." Ace rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think he'd have a clue what you're talking about."

"Why not? Are you saying he _isn't_ with Whitebeard's crew?"

"He is! Probably, I mean. It's just that, well. He's not there _now_."

"Explain." Shanks growled out, obviously suspicious again, "What did you mean he isn't there _now_?"

"Well. How should I put this? He's there _then._ When I was, but not _now_. Does that make any sense?"

Brown eyes bore into him, "...No."

"Ace! I brought you some food! We should eat together, right?" The teen barely had time to turn around before Luffy collided with his legs, almost dropping the food.

"Luffy! How many times do I have to tell you to watch where you're going? Gesh, you never change, do you? And stop calling me that." Ace grumbled as he stopped his little little brother from falling over.

"Shishishi...Sorry, Ace! I'm just so happy you're here! And you're not hurt anymore!"

"For the last time, I'm not Ace."

"Yes you are! You're a grown-up Ace! How'd you do it? I wanna be a grown-up too, because then we can be pirates together!"

Ace sighed before taking the offered food. He knew there was no convincing Luffy that he was someone else. His little brother was stubborn, and oddly perceptive. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Shanks' hand closed on his shoulder, spinning him to face the captain. His eyes were drawn to the tattoo partially hidden under his hand. The S was crossed out, followed by a C and an E. Shifting his grip over the S, his eyes barely stopped on the A before making their way up to the younger man's face. "Don't tell me..." The man stared intently at his face while Ace just looked at him curiously, the surprise was evident on the captain. "_You're_..."

"No. Don't even finish that. Luffy can call me that, because it's him and I know that I can't convince him otherwise. But I'm _not._ Alright?" He glared at the man, though the effect was lost with a Luffy hanging off his arm.

Shanks grinned, "You might not be right _now_, you mean. But, what, seven, ten, years from now? _Then_..."

Ace just sighed, "I am in _so_ much trouble for this, aren't I?"

The leader of the red haired pirates nodded, helping himself casually to some of the food the boy had brought, "Yes, I'd say so. Now, how do we get our Ace back?"

"I've got absolutely no clue. I don't even know what island we were on, or I'd suggest finding the ruins. Oh man, Marco's gonna kill me, too." He brightened, "But, _Thatch_ is there right now, er, then, so maybe they'll think it was all his fault! YES! I'm off the hook!"

"Uh-huh. So, basically, you're saying we're stuck with you for a bit." Shanks grinned at him, amusement dancing in his eyes as the teen practically crowed in delight over not being in trouble.

"Well, maybe just for a little while." Ace shrugged, barely noticing as Luffy stole some food from him, "I'm sure someone will figure it out. Maybe Serpent, she's smart. Of course, they're going to have their hands full with m...er, Ace. He's not exactly the most trusting ten year old."

"With good reason, I'd say."

Ace nodded, "I know they'll be fine, though. They deal with _me _on a daily basis, after all, and I'm not exactly Mr. Open-and-Trusting myself."

A calculating look crossed the Yonko's face"Which reminds me... How did you end up with Whitebeard again?"

"Luffy, this is some good food! Let's go get some more!" With a smirk, Ace scooped up his little brother and ran for the mess hall, leaving a vaguely annoyed captain in his wake.

"Hey! Don't avoid the question!"


	2. Chapter 2

**_Ok, this story was SUPPOSED to be a oneshot, but then people seemed to enjoy it, and more Older-Ace shenanigans kept popping into my head. I blame watching One Piece eps after playing FF7 Crisis Core. So here's another part. More may or may not follow. We'll see._**

**_Question of the chapter "Ever dream about a game after playing it?" I drempt I was stuck in Jak 2 once._**

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Ace practically flew down the steps to the lower deck, a squirming Luffy tucked under his arm. With a laugh, he barely slowed down as he raced down the hall towards the galley listening to the sound of good natured pursuit. Grinning at his little-little brother, he ducked into an empty room. just as Shanks came into view. Luffy had to stuff both hands into his mouth to stifle his giggles as the captain ran past. The freckled young man smiled fondly at the boy, ruffling bis dark hair as the giggles subsided.

" We got him good, huh, Ace?"

"Yeah, we sure did." he grinned back as his stomach rumbled; reminding the pirate that he was very hungry after all. If he went into the galley with his little brother right now though, it would just raise all sorts of questions. Questions he really didn't think he should be answering. It was times like this he almost wanted a shirt. _Stupid, Ace. Really stupid. How could you forget the oh-so-brilliant idea of tattooing your name on your arm? What I need...is a.._. "Hey, Luffy, can you get me some bandages?"

"Why, did you hurt yourself again?" The little boys looked at him worriedly,looking like he was about to cry.

Running a hand through his messy hair, Ace knelt in front of his brother, "Hey now, don't cry. I'm fine, see? Look, not a mark on me."

"But why do you want bandages then?"

"Well, Shanks wasn't too happy when he saw this tattoo on my arm, right? So I want to cover it up before we go eat. I don't want the rest of the crew upset is all."

"...Why not put a shirt on?"

"Do you know where to find a shirt that will fit me right now?"

The little boy laughed, clearly picturing Ace wearing the same cloths as his younger counterpart wore, "...nooooo..."

"That's what I thought. Now, I'll walk with you to the infirmary, but we don't want to scare the doctor, alright? So you'll have to go in by yourself. Can you do that?"

"Alright, Ace!"

_**BREAK!**_

Shanks entrance into the galley wasn't the most dignified, not that his crew minded. In fact, Yasopp clapped when their fearless leader managed to avoid tripping over a bench and falling as he came racing in. The redhead grinned back, eyes scanning the room for the two D-linquants. That grin quickly turned into a frown when he didn't spot a jubilant Luffy, nor the tattooed back of their visitor.

"Hey, Cap! Didya find Ace?" Lucky Roo called from where he sat.

"Sort of. Found out where he is, at least. Any of you guys seen Luffy come in here in the last few minutes?"

"The kid left? How the hell does anyone keep an eye on that boy? I swear, Shanks, he's worse then a cat." Benn gripped, making his way over to his friend and captain.

"Damn." He glared at the doorway, wondering if maybe he'd been had, "Where the hell did they go?"

Benn picked up on his agitation quickly, "Captain, what happened with that stranger on deck?"

"I'm not exactly sure, myself, my friend. I don't think he's a threat. Or at least, I didn't until he took off with Luffy."

"HE WHAT?!" Everyones attention was suddenly on the captain as the crew prepared to scour the shop for the stowaway who'd kidnapped one, possibly two of their wards.

"A little voice pipped up over the din from the hall, "_Hurry up!_ I'm starving!"

As the crowd fell silent they could hear the amused reply, "Luffy, you're always starving. You know what? I think your legs are hollow."

"They are _not! _Are they?" Luffy appeared in the doorway, his attention fully on the young man being dragged along behind him.

"Maybe..." the man teased, a wicked grin on his face that faded only slightly when he looked up and noticed the hard stares, "Ah. Hello, Been waiting long?"

"Here I thought you were hungry. What happened, you get lost?" Shanks growled out, glaring at the now cockily grinning much-older Ace. A grin he thought he'd never see again, not after what he'd been though.

"Nah, had to make a pit stop." Came the dismissive response as the man was half lead and half dragged through the crowd by an eager Luffy to the mess table where a buffet style meal was laid out. He ignored the muttering of the crew as they got a good look at his back in favor of picking up two plates which he balanced one-handily as he loaded them up under Luffy's guidance.

"Pit stop?" Shanks asked, following them to a long table as things started to settle back down.

"Mmmmm! Ace needed some bandages!" Shanks' eyes drifted to the man's left arm, his distinctive tattoo, a dead giveaway if there ever was one, now covered by medical gauze as some of his crew-mates joined them, "cause he can't sp..."

"Here Luffy, have some sausage." The boy quickly shut up and focused on eating the treat while Ace looked both relieved and smug.

Right up until Benn leaned over from where he was sitting and looked down at Luffy worriedly. "Luffy, you've seen Ace?" Where is he hiding?"

The small boy blinked up at the man, "Silly, this _is_ Ace!" Benn, Yasopp and Roo shared a look that said the kid had a few screws loose. "_Ace!"_

For his part, Ace had been trying to eat while keeping his younger brother's hands off his food. Upon hearing the whine however, he sighed and wiped his hand before offering it to Benn, "I'm Ace."

"Really?" Shanks had to hide his grin at the 'well isn't _that_ just convenient' tone. He was interested to see how this would all play out. If his crew figured it out, that was fine, if not, that was fine, too.

"Yep. Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates, at your service. Weird, huh?"

"Never heard of you." Yasopp pointed out as Benn just glared.

"Now guys, you can't expect to have heard of every rookie out there. Why I bet in no time we'll be hearing about this guy right here." The captain teased the Whitebeared pirate at his table, ignoring the icy look.

"Hey Shanks?" Luffy tugged on his arm, forcing his thoughts back to the present, "What's a Whitebeard?"

"It's a who, Luffy, not a what." Shanks answered, deftly moving his glass out of the way before the boy knocked it over. "He's a pirate captain, like me."

Ace rolled his eyes, "He's only _the coolest_ pirate captain on the Grand Line, Shanks."

"Hey now, rookie, do you have any idea who you're talking too?"

The teen waved his head at Roo, ignoring the implied threat, "Luffy, he's got this amazing mustache," he mimed the facial feature, "Marco says he's had it forever, and I believe him. Plus, he's strong. Like, crazy strong."

"Stronger then Grandpa?"

"Way stronger then Grandpa."

"WOW!"

"I know, right? And you know what the best part is? He doesn't even get mad when I break stuff or pull stupid shit." He paused, thinking about that for a second, "Alright, scratch that. Sometimes he does, but usually I think he's just pretending to make Marco happy. That guy is _such_ a mother hen sometimes."

"I wanna meet him! Shanks, can we go meet him?"

The captain burst out laughing at the look of panic on Ace's face. He figured that the freckled youth had forgotten in his excitement the situation he was in. Gray eyes turned to him, pleading for help, and the redhead found himself relenting, "Maybe when you're older, Luffy."

"Awwwwww...How come Ace got to meet him then?"

"Because he's older. _Both_ of them are older then you. So don't argue with me, Luffy."

"Speaking of both Aces...Captain, where's our Ace again?"

"Why are you guys being soo stuuupid?!" Luffy whined, "Ace is..."

"Having a great time with his extend family." Ace cut in, "Really, this is just like being on the _Moby Dick._"

"Other Ace, I've been wondering, how _did_ you end up on Whitebeard's crew?" Yasopp eyed the young man critically, disbelief obvious. "You're kind of young for a pirate."

"Oh, that was easy." The teen grinned cockily, "I tried to kill Whitebeard."

"YOU WHAT?!" Shanks shouted felt his heart do this weird little shudder.

"I tried to kill Whitebeard." He repeated, calmly as if discussing the weather.

"Ballzy, kid, I'll give you that." Lucky Roo laughed around his meat.

"You have a death wish, don't you?"

"Haha, I get that a lot."

"So what, you tried to stab him and he said, 'Hey, I like you, join the crew!'"

"Something like that. Of course, it hurt like hell. For me. You know." He turned to Luffy, who was listening raptly, "Listen, Luffy, don't _ever _try that, alright? Particularly if he's sleeping. Oyaji doesn't hold back if he's sleeping. Or Drinking, or eating..."

"Just how many times did you try to kill him?"

"I lost count after a while." Ace lied, "What? It pissed me off that he just backhanded me though a wall in his sleep!"

"You gave up though, right? PLEASE tell me you gave up, Ace!" Shanks looked at him, slightly panicky. He didn't notice the look of concern Benn gave him, but if he had, he'd probably have had ignored it. He'd expected the boy to have issues, but to go after _Whitebeard_, and so persistently, it was amazing he survived the first time.

Ace paused in his eating, and looked him in the eyes, totally serious, "Well, yeah, of course I did. It was a bit of a lost cause after all. Pranking Marco is more successful, and a hell of a lot more rewarding, you know."

"Marco the Phoenix? Kid, you really like to live dangerously, don't you?" Yasopp shook his head, amazed, "There's a reason that guy's Newgate's first division commander you know."

Gray eyes danced in mischief, "Eh, he's not so scary. Besides, Thatch and I keep telling him, younger brothers have to annoy the the eldest brother."

"Uh-huh." The four looked at him like he was nuts while Luffy liberated food from their unguarded plates.

"So, therefor, as as members of the second and fourth division, it is our duty, nay, or _job_ to prank him. Because everyone else is too much of a pansy."

"Your playing with fire, brat." Benn pointed out, grimacing at his cold coffee.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Ace smirked, swiping the cup out of his hands and giving it a sip, "Mmmm hickory, my favorite."

"What makes you two so special, huh?" Shanks asked, raising an eyebrow, "You too cute to kill?"

"Hardly. Thatch is a cook." Everyone, even little Luffy nodded. You didn't mess with a cook on a ship, it was a sure way to court death. "As for me..." He grinned, handing Benn back his cup, which was now steaming hot.

"How did you do that?" The man yelped, almost dropping it.

Ace smirked, "I just like having someone I can _burn off_ some steam with. What, too hot?"

"So you went and got yourself a devil fruit, huh?" Shanks laughed, more then a little impressed by the causal show of control.

"Yep. Mera Mera no mi. Pretty bad-ass, right? Of course, made it hard to read any good scary books for a while, and I burned up every single one about..." He looked haunted for just a second before the grin was back. "But hey, I got better at it." He wiggled now flaming fingers at the captain before fisting his hand, the flame going out. "Whadda think, Luffy?"

"Shishishii, Ace is so cool! When I get big, I wanna be just like you."

"Yeah, well, I try. Still have to wait till you're older before I tell you my secrets, though."

"Ace...Can we go play hide and seek now? Please?" Luffy asked, eyes wide and pleading and he looked up adoringly at his big brother, effectively ruining the mood.

The man sighed, unable to resist the puppy dog eyes as he eyed his plate forlornly, "Can I finish my food first, little man?"

"How often does he stay in one place when you ask him to?" Shanks chuckled as Ace's eyes widened slightly and he looked at his little-little brother, imagining all the times he'd gotten into trouble over the years.

"Good point. I'll eat later." He muttered just as Luffy slid off the bench and took off. "Luffy get back here! Damnit, there he goes."

Shanks chuckled to himself as he watched the two brothers leave the galley, Ace apologizing to the various people Luffy bumped into on his way out. He attempted to ignored the looks his three crew members were giving him. Finally he looked at Benn, "What?"

"Why are you so calm about this? Ace is missing!"

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Ace, big Ace that is, and I had a little chat. So, there's no point in panicking. Our Ace will come back soon enough. For now, let's just enjoy this."

"You _trust_ this guy?" Yasopp's voice had a note of disbelief in it.

"Hey now, he seems like a good kid." Shanks waved his hand dismissively. Noticing the sceptical looks, he threw them a bone, "Plus, he's good with Luffy. It's amazing how quickly the boy's taken to him, don't you think?"

Benn shook his head as he finished off his coffee, "Why do I get the feeling that you're up to something, Captain?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Kitsune here. Ok, this story is STAYING marked as complete, though I do keep periodically adding to it. First off, a big thanks again to Mountain97 for letting my run with this spinoff. Another thanks to Bard of Chaos for reading over the chapter(s) before I post them to make sure I haven't, I don't know, merged my stories together. Hey, it could happen, people. The question of the chapter and a challenge comes at the end of the chapter this time. tootles~**

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Ricky eyed the table critically, light reflecting off his glasses. The doctor had decided to take advantage of the fair weather they'd been having the last few days. He'd had one of his crew mates move the table out to the deck earlier that morning, thinking the fresh air would do Ace some good during their daily therapy. Ricky hadn't been one to focus on problems of the mind before, but since Ace had come on board, he'd forced himself to learn as much as he could. He'd noticed the boy was still twitchy inside, much preferring to be on deck whenever possible. Not that he could blame the lad, not in the slightest. Ricky wondered if that had anything to do with the disturbance he'd heard yesterday, but he thought nothing of it. Not after Luffy had shown up a little while later in the infirmary looking for bandages for Ace. The boy insisted his older brother was fine, laughing that funny laugh of his.

Really, Luffy was a pleasure to have on board, their own personal ray of sunshine. At first, he'd been determined to send the boy back home when they'd found him stowed away in one of the lifeboats. He was just a child after all, and all of them knew that a pirate ship, particularly one going after marines, was not a place for the boy. Shanks, however, had taken one look at the tear-stained face and gave in, much to Ricky's dismay. He was sure his captain had lost his mind. In hindsight he wondered if maybe the man had had an inkling of the state Ace would be in when they found him. To say he was a ghost of his former self would be an exaggeration; a shell was more like it. He had been so broken, physically, mentally, spirituality, that it was painful to look at him. Truly, he'd begun to think Ace would never recover from what that monster had done to him.

For a while, they'd tried to keep Luffy away from Ace. No one should have to see their older brother, their hero, like that. Ace himself had flinched at the idea of seeing Luffy with fear dancing behind his eyes. It was heartbreaking to say the least. Despite their intentions to keep the boys separate until he was stronger, the little troublemaker was having none of it. He'd snuck into the room and thrown himself at his older brother, sobbing that he would be good from now on if Ace didn't leave him again. Wincing in pain, the elder brother tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault at all, but Luffy was having none of it. He was convinced that his brother was hurt and mad at him because he had been a bad boy.

Ace had started to apply himself to his therapy after that. His improvement was slow, and he was still skittish, but the crew could see the boy he used to be before starting to come through now and then. The youth seemed to find the most enjoyment out of what Ricky called 'arts and crafts'. Simple things really drawing and painting to work on fine motor control. At first Ace had scowled at the paper, struggling to draw a simple circle again with his ruined hands. Now though, now he was quite the artist. Ricky nodded to himself as he looked over the supplies again. He had out some pencils, thick paper, and something new. Some squares of paper; wanted posters the crew had cut up for him just for this. He just hoped that it wasn't too soon to try this with Ace.

"Ace! Luffy!" He called, "Craft time!" Which of course to Luffy meant snack time. It was just possible that anytime he heard his name, it translated to snack time, though.

"Yay! Hurry! Faster, Ace, faster!" He could hear running on the aft deck, and strolled over to the rail to look over and watch the two boys at play. He jumped back slightly when a dark haired young man came flying up over the railing, Luffy clinging to his back like a monkey. "Do it again! Do it again!"

"Oops! Didn't see you there, sorry." The young man bowed, tripping a distinctive orange hat in apology and further shading his face, "That's enough for now, Luffy."

"Awww but Ace..." The little boy whined before noticing the table, which also happened to have snacks on it. He was quick enough to launch himself from the man's back after that.

"That was some jump there, young man. Ace was it?" Ricky crossed his arms and casually stood in his way. He'd been the ship's doctor for years, and he didn't recognize this wanna-be 'Ace' at all. Now that he'd gotten him away from Luffy, he wasn't about to let the stranger anywhere near the boy again without the express go-ahead from the captain.

The hat cocked to the side, the smiling and frowning face beads almost leering at him as he felt the other's regard. "Huh. Yeah, Ace." He turned his shoulder, displaying part of a tattoo on his back, "Whitebeard Pirate, second division. You?"

"Ricky, doctor, Red-hair Pirate. What the hell is a Whitebeard doing on board?"

"Recently? Looking for my hat. You like it? It was a gift, you know...Oh, you mean on _this ship!_ Funny story, actually." He pushed past the doctor and sat at the table just in time to stop Luffy from sticking a paintbrush in some juice.

"I'm all ears," He followed behind, adjusting his glasses, checking the tattoo for authenticity. "do tell."

'Ace' pushed his hat back off his head, giving him a good view of the dusting of freckles across the man's face as he ignored the subtle demand, "Luffy, paintbrush, paint. Paint, paintbrush. It's not a _juice-brush_ silly. Here. Why don't you paint the doctor a nice picture of a...hmmm...A blue chicken. Yeah."

"No, I wanna paint a whale!" Luffy practically shouted.

"Alright then, paint a whale," Ricky patted the boy gently on the head, smiling fondly at him, wondering silently where his brother was.

"Shshishihihi! After I paint a whale for you, I'll paint a chicken for Ace!" The boy cheered, getting to work.

"It's gotta be blue, now, with a yellow head." the young man grinned wickedly, pulling over a piece of cut-up wanted poster with one hand as the other cupped his chin while he watched the young boy paint.

Ricky sat across from them with a slight huff, still not trusting the stranger, "I trust Shanks is aware you are on his ship?"

"Yeah, he knows I'm around here somewhere. Guy already gave me the fifth degree when I arrived." Gray eyes were focused on the paper in front of him now.

"Oh, did he now? And just why would he do that?"

"Hell if I know. Everyone's always picking on me. My luck sucks recently." Fold, unfold, turn, fold again.

"Sucks, how?" Ricky asked before he could stop himself, shocked when the older Ace answered with more then a shrug.

"Well, ending up here wasn't exactly on my list of things to do. Shanks accused me of kidnapping..." he muttered something under his breath, "I haven't slept a full night in over a week, and I think a psyco-marine might just be out to capture my friends, but hey, Luffy found my hat. Gotta look on the bright side, right doc? I love my damn hat."

"It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, young man. Well, loss of sleep is typical among younger pirates new to the seas. As for the marine, it does go along with the profession, you know."

The boy chuckled under his breath, "Not like this," he held the folded paper up to his mouth and tugged one corner out with his teeth, "there. Crane."

"That's amazing, Ace! So cool! How'd you do that?!" Luffy crowed as the young man handed him the paper bird.

"Lots of practice. I bet that Ricky and I could show you how to do it with two hands later if you want." He rubbed the boy's head affectionately.

"That is quite the skill you have there, Ace. It is interesting, there is a young boy on this ship who also goes by the name of Ace, you know. He's had a bit of a...rough time...recently, and I was going to teach him some basic origami to help him regain his dexterity. I must say, I wish the scamp hadn't run off, that was quite the display of talent."

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Ace blushed slightly at the praise, "Thanks. I learned from an old friend. It really _does_ help with dexterity. I can fold some more complex things, but one handed, cranes are about the limit. Izo is still sore about the bet he lost. Dared me once to fold one thousand cranes with one arm tied behind my back. It took three days, but I got it done. Since then, I've been teaching Jozu. He can fold a goldfish, so far."

Luffy tugged on Ricky's arm, distracting them both for a moment. When he turned to look at the grinning boy, he was presented with what he assumed was a whale. Of course, it was bright red, lumpy, and had legs, but he guessed it could be a whale-fishman of some kind. He humm'd and haa'd over the painting for a moment before telling Luffy that it was the best whale he'd ever seen, causing the boy's grin to get even wider, if that was even possible. Ricky caught Ace's smirk and promptly kicked him under the table, which for some reason only made the gray eyes dance as he tried not to laugh. Both were silent as Luffy picked out another piece of paper with a look of extreme concentration and then looked around for the blue paint. Of course, having found that, he stared at his red paintbrush pouting until Ace handed him a clean one before he could even go looking.

"You are very good with him," the doctor pointed out, carefully putting his painting somewhere safe to dry.

Ace shrugged, "Years of practice."

"So you have younger siblings then? Or are you referring to the other Whitebeard pirates?"

"I got a little brother," Ace smirked sardonically at him as he started to fold a flower, "he's a real handful, but I love him anyway. I guess you could say it's been a while since I've seen him, but some things never change."

"Ace, what are you talking about, silly! We see each other every day!" Luffy pouted looking up with big brown eyes.

Ricky knew Luffy wasn't exactly the brightest, but he was a little annoyed at the child. No wonder Ace was hiding if Luffy was getting the two confused. He glared at the sighing young man, expecting him to say something about the obvious mix-up. The older Ace didn't, instead he just rubbed Luffy's head indulgently. It occurred to Ricky that maybe this Ace had been asked by the younger to keep Luffy entertained and _pretended_ to be Ace. They did look a lot alike, if you ignored the obvious age difference. The same piercing gray eyes. The same half-smile that said they knew something you didn't. The same swath of freckles across the high cheekbones and aristocratic...

"...Ace, mind explaining to me _exactly_ what is going on here?" Ricky hissed, feeling a sudden headache coming on as the young man, no, _boy_, looked at him sheepishly.

"I've got no clue what you're talking about," he tried to lie, looking away.

"Portgas D Ace, I'm a doctor. _Your_ doctor. Whatever you did to suddenly gain...what ten?... years isn't going to change certain structural facts! Either our Ace has an older sibling, which I know for a fact he doesn't, or you're _our_ Ace. Which brings me back to the original question. What exactly is going on here?" Ace muttered something under his breath, looking quite put-out. Ricky stared at him in open wonder for a moment as his brain attempted to process what he'd just heard. "_TIME TRAVEL?!_ What about the younger you? He still needs a doctor, you idiot! What were you thinking!"

"Hey! It's not like I did this deliberately! And keep it down, will you? The other me should be fine, anyway. Oyaji's got some of the best doctors on the seas, you know. Plus, Marco 'n Thatch'll be there. So long as they can catch me...er, him, and convince m-h-the kid they're not out to get him, he'll be fine." Ace scratched his head, "Time travel hurts my head. Can we just stop talking about this now, please? I was up half the night worrying about it."

"Oh, just half the night?" Ricky snarked, only to received a dirty look. The doctor sighed backing off.

Luffy handed his brother the painting he'd been working on, a bright blue blob with a yellow head. Again, it vaguely looked like a chicken. At least, it looked enough like a chicken that Ace was grinning very happily. "Wow, Luffy, this is really good! You know what? It looks just like Marco!"

"_Really?!_" The boy was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.

Ace nodded decisively, "Yeah! Just like him! Would you mind if I gave it to him when I see him again? It'd mean the world to him."

The little face scrunched up in thought for a moment before brightening with a smile, "...Sure Ace! 'Cause he's your friend, right?"

"Thanks Luffy." He carefully put the paper in the sun to dry.

Ricky rolled his eyes, "You're bad, you know that, right?"

"Who? Me? _Never!_ Marco'll love this. I know he will, it's fan-mail. Well, kind of. And it _does_ look an awful lot like him. Plus, it's from my little brother." Ace smiled warmly. Ricky took that to mean that the other wouldn't dream of doing anything to the picture for either fear of retaliation or out of friendship. He wondered idly which it was.

Spotting his captain coming up on the deck behind Ace and Luffy, Ricky raised an eyebrow at the man. The red haired man saw both boys and grinned, miming to Ricky to be quiet as he slowly snuck up on them. "So, how _have_ you been?"

Ace grinned, "Great! Well, good, at least. Got myself a nice, respectable bounty for crap that I've _actually _done. I'm a part of a great crew, and some of my friends are pretty bad-ass. Added bonus? They're real."

"Oh?" The doctor pushed up his thick glasses slightly as Shanks leaned in behind Ace and dropped an arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah, Ricky. Our boy's all grown up with friends of his own. Didn't you hear? He's been playing with, who was it again? Thatch, Marco the Phoenix, and someone called Serpent. Oh, and _apparently _ Newgate's taken a shine to him after he tried to kill the man a few times. Did I miss anything, Ace?"

"Er, no. I think that just about covers everything. My, look at the time! Hey, Luffy, ready for lunch?" The teen looked at his brother, quickly twisting out from under Shanks and racing after the little boy who was already long gone.

"...And there he goes." The captain puffed, sitting heavily on the now vacated chair running a hand though his hair. "He's harder to pin down then...well, himself."

"I gather as much. Is there a reason you didn't give me any warning about this, Shanks?"

"Mostly I forgot. Hey, don't give me that look! I've been trying to catch him for the last day and get some strait answers out of him, so I've been _a bit_ distracted. Also, I thought I'd just, you know, play along." he waved a hand vaguely, shrugging.

"I take it no one else knows then? No, of course not. The crew would be in a complete uproar. Well then." Ricky sighed as they both fell silent. "He's hiding things, you know."

"It's Ace. When _hasn't_ he?" Shanks smirked as he pushed himself up from the table, "Well, I'm off to see if I can find them again. He's a sneaky bastard, that's for sure."

* * *

_**Question of the chapter: "Can you do origami?" I'm actually pretty decent at it, myself. It really is a great way to work on finger dexterity and control, too. This is my challenge to you guys! Fold a crane one handed. Or a gold fish. I'll warn you, it's actually harder then you'd think, or at least, really frustrating. Oddly enough, I fold them with my right hand...I'm left handed. I noticed that today. I wonder why that is.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Kitsune with the latest installment of Reverse Tide! Thanks for waiting, Mina-san! Of course, your reviews and support have been a big help and inspiration and I've got a few more ideas lined up for this...but keep in mind I DO have two other fully active stories going right now that I need to work on as well as a full time job, so I update when I can. Anyway, a big thanks as usual to Mountain97. Let's get onto the story, shall we?**_

_**Question of the chapter: "Have you ever learned more about something because you saw it in an anime/manga?" YES! I'll come across something interesting in an anime/manga, and then I'll go do research on it. It happens a lot, actually, so I can't site an example. Happens to me with books and movies, too.**_

* * *

Benn was worried as hell. Shanks had been trailing behind Luffy and this Ace-that-wasn't_-their-_Ace like a loyal dog since the strange man had arrived. Now, he more then used to his captain generally acting like a fun-loving goof. Heck, he was basically immune to Shanks' antics. So, one would think seeing the grown man hiding behind a barrel as the two went racing past intent on some game Luffy had just made up he would just ignore it. If it had been _their_ Ace, he probably would have, or at most teased the captain unmercifully over it.

The problem was, it wasn't. Their Ace had completely vanished into thin air the same time this stranger had arrived. Benn himself had checked over every inch of the ship to be sure that he wasn't hiding away like he was prone to do when frightened. Shanks, who had been beside himself with worry for the boy, was acting like nothing was wrong. He wasn't even batting an eye over the Whitebeard pirate cavorting on their ship. A pirate with an unhealthy interest in Luffy. He was sure that this 'Ace' had done something to the captain, particularly when his longtime friend had approached him just an hour ago and asked if he thought the black haired young man looked a bit pale to him. Shanks did not worry about strangers, let alone potential enemies, not when he had the boys to think about.

Now even Ricky was acting strange. Benn had caught him watching the two play about on deck with a pensive half smile on his face. Ricky hadn't once asked where Ace had run off to, instead commenting to Benn that the young pirate on board was amazingly well adjusted. When the first mate had raised his worry over letting Luffy get so close to the stranger, the doctor had just laughed him off. He'd been told that the older Ace apparently had a younger brother Luffy's age, one that he missed quite a bit. Personally, he thought that was a little too convenient. If he didn't know for a fact that this Ace-guy was a fire-type devil-fruit user, he'd suspect him of having one that let him use mind control or something.

Lucky and Yassop were also suspicious, watching him warily any time he happened to come near, ready to swoop in and rescue Luffy the moment he did something even slightly suspicious. But it fell to him as first mate to get to the bottom of this. For that reason alone he was once again on deck listening for the two. Luffy didn't know how to be quiet after all, so all Benn had to do was follow the sounds of raucous laughter. A cooler breeze had him glancing up momentarily, spying some darker clouds on the starboard side, the signs of a potential storm brewing. The laughter stopped.

Benn raced across the deck, reaching where he knew the sound had been coming from, fearing the worst. "_Luffy!_ Are you alr...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Ace fell asleep," the boy grinned, holding up a marker he'd gotten from who knows where proudly, "I was going to make him pretty!"

"Why does that sound familiar?" Benn couldn't help the smile as he looked at the squiggles drawn on the cheeks of the sleeping man. They'd had to stop Luffy a few times from doing the exact same thing to his brother during his narcoleptic fits. He was curious as to what had caused the guy to drop so suddenly, though. _With my luck, he's got the plague or something..._ "As much as I'd love to let you continue, you're going to have to stop."

"AWWWWW!"

"Don't 'Awwww' me, Luffy. You know better. Now. Go give the marker back to whoever you stole it from this time." A distant boom of thunder interrupted him, causing the boy to jump and clutch the sleeping man. Benn hid his frown at the act, remembering that the boy was terrified of thunder. "Why don't you go find Shanks, eh? I'll get 'Ace' here up and we'll join you in a bit."

Luffy shook his head stubbornly, clutching even harder to the bright orange belt, "NO! I wanna stay with Ace!"

Sighing, the tall man crouched low, deciding for now to put aside his apprehension over the stranger and humor the frightened boy. "I know, Luffy...but look. It's going to rain, right?" the boy nodded, looking upset over the fact, "If you stay out here, you're going to get very wet. Ace, too. So while you and Shanks get your room _just_ the way you want it, I'll wake Ace up so he doesn't get all wet. Sound like a good plan?"

"Ummm..." Another distant rumble could be heard, deciding the boy, "you _promise_?" Benn nodded. "Ok! I'll go find Shanks then!" Luffy took off running as fast as his little legs could carry him, leaving the first mate with an unconscious pirate to deal with.

He sighed, looking down at the young man snoring soundly on the deck. Part of him, a rather big part actually, wanted to just leave him out there, but another glance at the now-dark sky had him changing his mind. "Damn conscious. Pirates shouldn't _be_ nice guys... Hey. Wake up."

The guy snorted in his sleep, rolling on his side and continued to snore. Benn ground his teeth. On the one hand, he was sure he could easily pick him up since he didn't look _that_ heavy. On the other, there was the whole Mera Mera no Mi thing though. Not to mention the guy _was_ a pirate. Pirates, as a general rule, didn't take kindly to surprises, and he had a few crewmates who'd been known to come up swinging when someone had woken them up suddenly. _So, picking him up is just asking for third degree burns, I bet._ He glared at Ace-not-Ace who continued to sleep, oblivious to it all.

"I really _should_ just leave you out here to get rained on. Serves you right, too. Complete bollocks the way the capt'n trusts you just like that. Whitebeard pirate or no. I don't even think you _are_ a Whitebeard, for that matter. Bet your name isn't even Ace. Bet it's something lame, like...Bob. Or Samuel."

Ace snuffled in his sleep, still out of it as the occasional raindrop began to fall. Benn was actually fascinated to note that the few that landed on the man hissed and sizzled out of existence quickly. He wondered if maybe the guy wouldn't actually get wet if left out in the rain. Of course, if he did happen to get soaked to the bone Shanks, Ricky, and Luffy would come after him about it. He'd had Luffy kick him in the shins before and honestly, for a brat, the kid could sure kick hard.

He stood, eyeing the sleeping form with mild distaste. He could attempt to shake the sleeping fellow awake, possibly getting burned, or...Benn grinned, "Oy. Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" he lightly kicked the man just below the ribs. _More of a... firm toe-nudge. Yeah._ Ace snored again, flopping back all the way onto his back, arms spread wide. "Hey. I said 'WAKE UP', Asshole!" He repeated the toe-nudge, "you wa-"

The sleeping man exploded into action. His right hand lashing out and catching his foot, digging strong fingers into to soft tendons just above the shoe while lifting up and out. Benn's arms windmilled as he tried to keep balance on his one leg only to have that one thoughtfully swept out from under him with a sweeping kick that would have broken his leg if his knee had been locked. As it was, he was going to be limping tomorrow. Benn ignored the pain blossoming in his hip as he landed poorly, flipping onto his back and answering with a strong kick of his own that connected with nothing but warm air, _shit, fast!,_ and ready to let fly with his fists.

In less than a heartbeat the man was on top of him, a fist cocked back and a-flame, a glazed look in his gray eyes. Benn knew he was screwed, "Guess we know your true colors, eh?"

He just muttered, "Hanna, how many times I gotta tell you not to kick me awake?" blinking slowly. Benn realized then that he wasn't really awake, not yet. "No buckets of water, no kicks, no poking me with a stick. Is that _so_ hard to remember? Now, _WHAT _was so important you wouldn't let me wake up on my own?"

"...It's about to storm." Benn pointed out, still not daring to move under the half-awake pyro-pirate.

"Y-yeah, so?" he yawned as the slow drizzle caused the marker to run on his face.

"I sent Luffy inside and decided to wake your ungrateful ass up."

Gray eyes snapped open, "Luffy?"

The first mate growled at him, "_Yes,_ Luffy."

The man seemed to panic, sitting up straight and looking around frantically, "What's Luffy doing on the _Moby Dick_? He can't be on _Moby_ now! Not with..."Ace shook his head, clearing the last of the cobwebs out of his mind, He looked down at his seat, "Benn?"

"Oh, so we're awake, now." he gave the man still sitting on him a dirty look, "Mind getting off me, then?"

"Huh? Oh..." Ace sheepishly moved and offered the other a hand. "Sorry about that...Don't tell the Hannas about this, please. You don't look anything like them."

"I should hope not. Mind telling me what that was about?" Ben refused to let go of the wrist after standing, ignoring the cold raindrops that hit him.

Ace looked up at the sky, "Can we do this later? Luffy doesn't like thunderstorms. I don't want him to be alone during one at sea."

"Captain Shanks should be with him right now." Benn shot back, filing away how odd it was that this stranger knew that about their Luffy. He wondered what else the man knew, and more importantly, how he knew it.

"Shanks? Are you sure he's not going to just tease him about it?"

"The capt'n knows better." Ace gave him a disbelieving look, "Either way, _you're _not going anywhere near Luffy again till you answer some questions."

"Typical Benn. Should have known." He smirked at him, daring him to ask his questions.

Benn glared at him as he fixed his hair back into a ponytail, "Why'd you just fall asleep like that?"

"Narcolepsy. Annoying as hell. Usually it isn't _quite_ so bad, but I've, uh, had a rough week." He rubbed the back of his head, looking away.

"How'd you get on the ship?"

"Not a fucking clue." When Benn gave him the evil eye he shrugged, "Seriously, hell if I know. One minute I was somewhere else, next minute Shanks is yelling at me. Trust me, if I knew how I got here, I'd _fix_ it. I've got...things...that need taking care of back home."

"Right. How about telling me where our little Ace has gotten to, then?" Benn crossed his arms, still blocking the man's way. When Ace refused to meet his eyes he tried another tactic, "Alright, what exactly are you up to? _What_ did you do to our captain?"

"Huh?" Ace blinked at him, "What do you mean?"

He watched the young man carefully, "Like you don't know. Because pirates are so welcoming of strangers on their ships. I'll tell you what I think. I think you're a marine spy, sent to capture Ace and possibly Luffy." Ace's eyes became cold, very cold.

"Let's get one thing straight, Luffy is my precious family. I'll _kill_ anyone who threatens him." He pushed past Benn, "As for me 'doing something' to your captain...other than giving him a near-heart attack, nothing."

"And Ace?" Benn questioned, following him into the hall past the crew who was studiously ignoring them. His mind wasn't really on the question, though. Instead he was thinking about what the man had just said. He didn't _think_ this guy was related to Luffy in any way, but there was no doubting the conviction in his voice. The question became why.

The man gave him a dirty look over his shoulder, "I keep telling you people I didn't do anything to him. Trust me when I say it's in my best interests to keep that kid safe."

They arrived at the captain's room, where Benn assumed Luffy had bunked down. When the ship echoed with a peal of thunder the yelp that could be heard confirmed it. Ace sighed and threw open the door, revealing a smiling Shanks sitting on the bed next to a quivering lump of blankets Benn assumed was Luffy. He shared a rueful look with his captain as the bundle squeaked in fear.

Ace wasted no time walking over to the bed, "Hey, Lu-"

"ACE!" The boy practically flew, latching onto the young man who stumbled back a step. A trail of blankets connected him to the bed still. "Ace! AceAceAce!"

"Hey there, Luffy. What's wrong? Is Shanks teasing you again?" Ace had such a gentle smile on his face as he rubbed Luffy's hair.

"H-he said only b-babies are s-scared of thunde-r..." Luffy whimpered as another peal could be heard. There were tear streaks on his face, and Shanks looked mildly contrite. For Shanks, that is.

The Whitebeard pirate was _not_ amused. He gently picked up Luffy before sitting on the bed and wrapping the blankets firmly around the boy as he held him tight. He shot Shanks disgusted look over Luffy's head. A look that Benn found oddly familiar for some reason. "Hey Luffy...wanna know a secret?"

"Secret?" The boy repeated, perking up a bit. The three had to stifle their chuckles, Luffy always did love secrets and mysteries. "YES!"

"Luffy, _everyone_ is scared of something. Even Shanks and Whitebeard. Even me. My friend Marco? He's afraid of going bald. We never mention his hair, he gets really upset. I think I even saw him cry once. Tatch will actually run away from spoiled milk." He shrugged at the incredulous looks he received from the other pirates, "Don't ask. I've seen him do it, though." They waited as Luffy whimpered when another boom was heard, "So it's alright to be afraid sometimes."

"B-but I don't wanna b-be a b-b-baby!" Luffy sniffled.

Ace sighed, rubbing a hand soothingly on his back. Benn had to admit he was a bit impressed with how well he was doing with the boy...and he would remember those little facts about the Whitebeard crew. Never knew when it might come in handy, after all. When Shanks actually chortled, the glare he got could have peeled paint. His captain wisely shut up, though the damage was done, and Luffy was crying again.

"Alright. I wasn't going to tell you this...but..." Ace sighed, "I got _one _more secret."

"W-what," the boy sniffled.

Ace stage-whispered, "When you grow up, you won't be scared of thunder any more."

"Am I a pirate? 'Cauz pirates aren't scared of anything!" Luffy's eyes sparkled as he conveniently forgot what he had just been told, not even noticing as the storm got worse.

"Well..." Ace chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "eventually, yeah." Luffy pouted at him, "What do you want from me, Lu? You sure as hell _better_ still be in Fuusha right no-th...GAH! You're not seventeen yet!" Benn frowned, wondering how he knew Luffy's home village, or the age at which Ace had said he'd go out to sea, knowing Luffy would follow that rule.

"Oh!" Luffy grinned, "Why didn't you say so!"

"Ch. Idiot." he hugged the boy.

"What about Shanks? What's _he_ doing?" Luffy's eyes sparkled.

"Yeah, what _am_ I doing?" Shanks smirked, and Benn noticed the nervous look on the young pirate's face. He wondered why his captain was playing along with the game.

"I don't know." The man looked away. Shanks' smirk turned into a full blown grin as he stood stretching, "Different ships and all that."

"Riiight. We'll go with that, then, Ace. Well. I'm off to go do Captain-y things. Why don't you boys try and get some sleep tonight? Make yourselves comfortable. I heard from a little birdy that someone didn't get much sleep last night because he was up half the night worrying." Shanks waved casually to the two sitting on his bed before swinging his hand around to slap his friend in the chest, "Come on Benn."

When the door clicked closed behind them the first mate couldn't help but notice the calm look on his face. Again, it worried him, but not as much as the thought of Luffy running out on deck during a storm trying to prove how brave he was. "Why don't you lock them in? You know, just to be safe?"

The look was replaced by one of horror, and Shanks shook his head emphatically, dragging him away from the door before hissing, "Don't _ever_ even _joke_ about locking Ace up, Benn!"

"I wasn't joking," He held up his hands when Shanks leveled his killer glare, "I was just thinking that Luffy might slip out onto the deck during the storm is all." _and of course, keeping someone I don't trust secure would be nice, too._ The red-head apparently saw the second part in his eyes though.

"We don't lock him in a room. Ever." The captain spoke before sighing, "Would you lock little Ace up in a room? Even if it was for his own good?"

In his mind's eye he saw the boy's broken body in that dark cell below deck again and shuddered, "What? NO! After all that kid's been though? That's just...God, no!" The thought of locking Ace in a room, _any_ room actually made him physically ill. Hell, closed doors still gave the kid a panic attack sometimes, even if he tried to hide it.

Shanks nodded before heading back towards the deck, "Exactly."

Benn could only stare after him for a few moments, confused by what he had meant by that. Part of him was tempted to push it off as the man being six sheets to the wind like usual, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling he was missing something. Something very important that was just out of reach. Finally he trotted after the man and stopped him with an arm on his shoulder, "What do you mean by that?"

He just gave him a wain little smile, "Some things, Benn. Some _fears_ you never get over. No matter how much time passes."

"Wha..."

"Oh, and buddy? My bed seems to be occupied for the evening, so I'm sure you won't mind me bunking with you, right? Dahahahahaha!"

"SHANKS! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**HA! And you thought you'd have to wait a while! This chapter IS a bit on the shorter end, and for that I am sorry, though. I blame a manga about Lacrosse (even I don't understand how this one really tied in), Dr. Who (you'll see), and, well, the usual other people (You know who you are. Yes. You guys, right there.) for this chapter. You know who you are. Don't expect another fast update, though...I've got the holidays, AND other stories! So, Enjoy the chapter, my friends~ (my cat just totally stole my backrest while I was typing this...-.-')**_

_**Question of the chapter: "Are you ready for the holiday?" HELL NO! I'm not even half done with my shopping! I've got way too many people to buy for...**_

* * *

He didn't know if he should be disturbed with how easy Shanks kept finding him or not. Then again, it was Shanks. The guy was the closest thing to a father and big brother rolled into one, and had always been able to track him down growing up. So, it shouldn't surprise him that the man could find him on his own ship. Not that he was _hiding_, per-se right now. Just, he needed some time away from Luffy. Some time to have his nice little panic-attack in private, thank you very much. So that was how he found himself up in the crows-nest, walking in tight little circles.

"It's not _possible!_" He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, "I mean, none of this should even be remotely possible!"

Sighing, he imagined what Serpent would say if she were there with him. She'd just give him that condescending feline look, maybe swishing her tail for good measure and say something like, '_Possible or not, it's happened. By your own stupidity I might add, Ace. Worrying about if it's possible won't change that.'_

"Hey! Don't blame me for this! How was I supposed to know..."

'_What are you, a cat? You should know better than to touch strange things. Idiot,' s_he'd scoff fondly.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm _still_ blaming Thatch. But that's besides the point...what do I _do?_"

Serpent would do a feline shrug at this point, '_You deal with it. Basically, you do what you have been doing.' _

"You don't under-" He spun around to confront the spot he'd placed his hat, the stand-in for his friend and sputtered to a stop. Shanks was half over the low wall, the fun grin he almost always had was literally melting off his face, being replaced with a look of pain and disappointment. Ace gaped at him for a second.

'_Busted.'_ His inner-Serpent mused.

"You can say that again..." he muttered, earning a hurt look. Quickly he grabbed his hat and looked away, putting it back on his head.

"Ah," Shanks began before clearing his throat, "Ah, yeah. Ace. Luffy's been looking for you. I think he's worried you've up and vanished again."

Ace nodded, not turning around. He knew how it looked, that Shanks was misunderstanding... but he'd spent so long with people who _didn't know-couldn't know_ he couldn't face that look.

"Well...uh. I guess I'll be going now..." The captain sounded so heartbroken it hurt, "Ace? You know...if you need to talk about anything..."

The young man sighed, turning back to look at his childhood hero who had not made a move to leave. "It wasn't what it looked like. Ok? I was just trying to work some things out, and...well, Serpent isn't _here_ but she spends enough time scolding me that I can imagine what she'd say, you know?"

"Serpent, huh? You mentioned them before." The red head gingerly sat on the wall, looking at him expectantly, "I see. Anything I can help with?"

"No. Yes." _'Maybe'_ _you shut up, you've caused enough problems! 'Hello? Cat.'_ "Maybe? Honestly, I don't know." He was vaguely aware of the note of fear creeping into his voice and took a deep breath.

Shanks made himself more comfortable, "Well, I'll see what I can do to help. What's got you so worked up?"

"Luffy."

"_Luffy?_ Wait, seriously? Why?" The captain stared at him, "Oh God, don't tell me he's dead in the f..."

He cut him off, covering his ears, "NO!"

A moment of silence passed, "Then why is Luffy getting you upset? Is it because he's on a pirate ship right now?"

"Yes. But...there's more to it than that. Luffy's just a symptom. I think." He chewed his lip.

"...Ok, you've lost me."

The young pirate sighed, thinking of the best way to tackle the issue. Finally he said, "Do you, do you remember how Luffy got on the ship?"

"Well, yeah! Little brat stowed away in a lifeboat. We didn't notice until we were a week out of port, too. Almost gave Roo a heart attack." Shanks laughed.

"Don't you think that's odd? Luffy _can't_ hide for shit. He's always sucked at it. There should be _no way_ he could hide for any length of time on a ship." Ace pointed out, "And another thing, how would he get away from Makino long enough to get onto the ship? Let alone why she didn't send half the fishermen of the village out after you when she realized he was gone."

The captain nodded, "Alright, I'll admit, that is a bit odd. I don't see why that would upset you so much you'd be up here talking to yourself, though."

Ace sat down opposite of the man. Brown eyes met miserable gray ones, "Because _I don't remember Luffy being here_, Shanks."

The other pirate froze, a look of worry on his face, "Memory loss isn't un-"

"I remember! Dammit, I remember _everything,_ even if I don't want to! Recently? It's been all I can _think_ about! He's _not supposed to be here_!" He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down, "He's supposed to be back in the village right now. Or at least, that's where he was when _I_ was ten and aboard the _East Wind_."

"Alright...I'll take your word for it." Shanks raised his hands in defense, "I can see why that would be a bit upsetting."

"That's only the half of it." He shifted uncomfortably, "I mean, we're dealing with something like time-travel, right?"

The other nodded, not saying anything.

"Well, assuming I didn't subs- basically take over for little me, he is now on _Moby Dick_."

"Yeah, I did get that." Shanks smirked, "I might not be a genius, but I'm not dumb, you know."

Ace waved him off, "We're going to pretend for now that the crew learning about...things isn't going to be a _big_ problem-"

"You haven't _told them?"_

"It never came up! And when I was going to tell Marco, he blew me off, alright? So no, I haven't." Ace glared at him for a moment before continuing, "There's some...stuff...that _might_ be going on on board that makes it not the best place for a mini-me with issues right now."

Shanks looked at him suspiciously, "What kind of stuff?"

Ace answered with a vague hand wave, "Oh, you know, _stuff_ stuff. Pirate-vs-Marines, issues with a crew member being a ass. It's just a bit tense on board right now." Shanks obviously didn't believe him. "Anyway, what if something happens to him-I mean me? What happens to _this_ me? Do I drop dead? Stop existing? Continue to exist here?"

The captain shook his head, obviously confused, "...and this has to to with Luffy somehow being where you don't remember how?"

"I was getting to that."

"Really? Because I thought you were busy working yourself into a panic."

"Shut up, I can do both at the same time, thank you." He glared at the man, thinking of how much he sounded like Serpent at times. Or was it the other way around?

"I still don't see any reason to panic. It's not like you can change the fact that you've swapped places, right?" Shanks reasoned, "You're just going to have to trust your crew."

"I do. Of course I trust them! I just..." Ace sighed, "What if things changed?"

"And you've lost me again. Changed how? How they see you?"

The young man waved off the questions, "It's like this. I go into the past, I tell you when the next marine raid is, you avoid it. Lives are saved, future is changed, right?" Shanks nodded, "Right, that's kind of how I thought this shit worked. I mean, at least, that's was the books said..."

"Why does it not surprise me you've read books about time travel?"

"Mostly fiction." Ace acknowledged, "The problem is, what I think I'm seeing is a ripple effect."

"You mean like when you throw something into water, right?" Shanks asked, getting a nod, "Well, what you just described is a ripple. I save a life, they save another life...so no matter what it's a ripple effect."

"Ok, maybe _distortion_ is a better word. I think...I think by just being here I've changed things."

"Well, that's a big _duh._"

They shared a grin, before Ace's fell, "What frightens me, Shanks, is I think I've changed the past _before_ I got here. Like Luffy being here. Maybe even some things in the future changed because of the -God I'm hoping it's a swap- swap."

Shanks was silent for a while, eyeing him. There was no pity, but there was a good dollop of worry in the expression. Finally the captain grinned, "What you need, my friend, is a party!"

"Alright, now _you_ have lost _me_."

"A Party!" The man stood and tugged his arm, urging him to his feet, "Come on, no more mopping up here."

"How the hell is a party going to help?" Ace glared at him, digging in his heals.

"The way I see it, there's nothing you can actually _do_ about any of this, right?" Ace nodded warily, "I mean, I know you're not about to tell me if Sengoku drops dead of a massive coronary brought on by your gramps...wait, does he? Because that would be nice, actually..."

"You're horrible, Shanks." Ace couldn't help the grin on his face, though.

"Dahahahaha, well. I try. Anyway. Since you can't actually _do_ anything about all this, why worry? I say, why not have a party instead? We still haven't celebrated you going out to sea!"

"Firstly, only you and Ricky know it's me, and secondly, we _did_ have a party. For three days."

"That was then, this is now!" Came the eloquent argument as the captain of the Red Haired Pirates practically flew down the mast. "Benn! Yassop! Prepare the sake! We're going to party!"

"What's it for, Captain?" called one of the crew.

"Hmmm, Good question! We're celebrating the future!" The captain grinned, looking up at the crows-nest while his crew cheered.

"He's hopeless."

'_Yes, but he is right. You can't do anything about it, you know,_' His inner-Serpent chuckled. _'You know we'll take care of the other you. Now, go have fun with the rest of your family.'_

"Yes, ma'am." He smirked, leaping from the crows-nest and scaring a few of the crew. As Luffy barreled into him happy to see him he couldn't help the wide smile. If nothing else, at least he got to spend time with his little brother.


	6. Chapter 6

_**So, I got snowed in yesterday. Why do you care? Well, I wrote. A lot. We're talking something like, oh, eight thousand words for three different stories (Yep, Burning Rubber...and a One Shot which may or may-not be ever finished...). One of which is this one! So, care! Mountain97 was awesome enough to give me some help at the end when I hit writer-burnout and was having...word malfunctions. Yeah, we'll go with that. The usual people are to be thanked, and I want to suggest people go read the story "Red Hair and a Straw Hat" since this chapter was in part influenced by the Shanks-love going on there (in particular chapter 9) even if I'd planned it well in advance. Thanks again for reading!**_

_**Question of the chapter: "Do you look at other people's fave's to find things to read?" I do all the time, but I found myself getting annoyed at an author today when I was cruising their faves, which were all current active stories, and the stories they wrote seem to be dead in the water for more then a year. Made me sad, because I was ENJOYING those stories.**_

* * *

"Would ya look't that? He's drunk it all again! Benn, this kid's amazing! Another round!" Shanks cheered, missing as the young man in question quickly switched his stein for the already highly intoxicated captain's, leaving the captain with a full glass and him with a mostly empty one. Again.

The move didn't go completely unnoticed, however. Lucky Roo and Yassop watched as the black haired youth grinned into the drink as their leader heartily pounded his back, Luffy asleep on his lap. The two of them were sure Benn had noticed as well, judging by the glare the normally easy going first mate was giving the boy. Though, that could have had something to do with the fact that _this_ Ace had soundly taken the man by surprise just the other day. The first mate glared down at the dregs in the stein before snatching it away and storming over to one of the barrels on deck, muttering under his breath.

"Looks like he's had enough," Yassop commented dryly, nursing his drink. He had to admit a certain likeable-ness to the stranger, but it didn't mean he was happy to see his friend be made a fool of. The Whitebeard Ace had been doing that since he'd arrived, too. Somehow, he had Shanks acting all weird, and it bothered the hell out of him because his friend wouldn't come out and tell him why.

Benn had a cold look in his eyes as he clunked down the now full container in front of the Whitebeard pirate who looked up at him with that cocky grin. "Grog. I'm cutting you off." He answered the unspoken question. The teen just tipped his hat in reply, grin widening as he took a sip of the watered down rum.

"Spoilsport!" Booed Shanks, apparently on behalf of his new best friend. He was completely sloshed, which wasn't too unusual. "Let the kid have a drink! A _real_ drink! A...MANLY drink!"

The young man laughed, "At least it's not juice, Shanks."

"_Juice?_ At a party?!" Shanks looked scandalized, forgetting that he himself had strictly forbidden anyone from giving Luffy anything _but_ juice. Whitebeard Ace had definitely earned points with Yassop when the young man had seconded that, threatening to burn anyone who tried. He had a young boy himself back home, and the thought of getting such a young child drunk for fun was not pleasant.

"There's an idea, boy. Give me that back. Apple or orange?" Benn wiggled his fingers, eyes narrowing. Ace burst out laughing.

Shanks was not amused. He glared at Ace, then at Benn, a look that had stopped many a marine cold. "I know what this is _really_ about. Benn! I'm surprised at you! To think it would bother you so much!"

The first mate froze, looking at his captain, "Of course it bothers me, you idiot! Do you have any idea whe-"

"If sleeping in your bed meant so much to you, you should have said something! I would have taken the floor!" The captain shouted over him, confusing them all for a second.

Benn practically exploded, "That's not the point! The problem is _why_ you were in my bed _in the first place_, Shanks!"

"Wow, ha. Uh. Alright then. More than I needed to know there." Ace interrupted the awkward silence that stretched out in their little corner. He shifted Luffy in his arms before standing, an easy smile back in place. But Yassop thought he saw a flash of…_something _before he grinned at them. "I'm going to turn in. It's what, around three? Lu here could use some sleep in a real bed, and he'll freak if I'm not there when he wakes up again. So...g'night."

They watched him push past Ricky with a nod before Shanks turned to them with a sigh. The man sounded weary, and surprisingly sober, "Luffy felt safer in my bed, and Ace needed a place to sleep, obviously. Honestly, Benn, I don't see why you're so worked up about this."

"Because while you're paling around with this guy, _Ace, our Ace!_ Is out there somewhere, and you don't seem to care!" Benn accused.

"I take it the current conversation is why Ace was muttering something under his breath about 'tactless idiots?" Ricky half frowned down at them as he adjusted his glasses. As usual, he hadn't been drinking and was able to grasp the situation instantly.

"They want to know where our Ace is, and basically Benn here is still sore about the kid trouncing him." Shanks laughed. "I keep telling them our Ace is fine, though!"

"Just because some Whitebeard pirate says so, doesn't mean it's true, Shanks!" Roo grumbled around his meat.

"Well, _I_ say that our Ace is fine." Shanks' voice was steely cold as he glared at them, "The three of you, I get it. You're worried, and I respect that. It's not my pace to clue you in to what is going on, though. That's Ace's. And frankly, the way you and the crew have been acting, if I was him, I wouldn't come out and tell you, either."

"The question is, which Ace are we talking about?" Yassop muttered darkly as he watched his captain get up and head towards the cabin.

Ricky sighed, also rising. "Does it really matter?"

* * *

The morning came far too soon for Yassop. Morning watch after one of his captain's famous parties was never pleasant, but he took it without complaint. Benn was still walking with a slight limp, after all. It also gave him the chance to think about what Ricky and Shanks had been trying to tell them the night before. He still felt that something fishy was going on, but he supposed that as Ace had put it, they'd been 'tactless idiots'. Particularly since he hadn't _done_ anything really. Except arrive at a conveniently suspicious time. Laughter could be heard, followed by the sound of a small body running on deck. Yassop moved out of the small boy's way as he went racing across the deck.

"Luffy, watch where you're going, alright? Ugh..." Ace moaned as he pulled his hat even lower over his eyes as he came up to the rail next to him. "My head. Kill me. Please."

Yassop smirked, looking at the suffering young man. He hadn't drunk a lot, and given his reaction he had little or no tolerance for alcohol. "Hangover?"

"What the hell does that man _drink? _Paint thinner?" Yassop saw the dark circles under his eyes and suspected that Ace hadn't slept well, either. "Kind of hard to stay hydrated enough to avoid one when you're made out of fire, too."

"Shanks usually drinks sake...Never thought of that as being a drawback to being a logia type. Is that why you kept swapping your drink with the Captain's?" He cocked his head to the side, getting a half hearted shrug as a response.

"Well, that's part of the reason...I don't drink much, anyway. Don't like what it does to me." Ace yawned, "I got seriously wasted just before I came here, though. Think I worried Marco, so I guess I owe him some sort of explanation. And probably an apology..."

"For getting drunk?" Yassop gaped at him, "I never knew the phoenix was such a prude!"

Ace just shrugged. Before he could answer, a figure stumbled onto the deck and made it's way over to them. Yassop just tsked at the sorry state his captain was in as the man emptied the contents of his stomach into the sea. His captain stood there panting for a moment before rolling his head to the side and smiling cheerily at them.

"Good morning. Either of you two bastards have some sake?"

"Oh God." Yassop couldn't help the smirk as Ace turned a little green and leaned over the rail, taking deep gulping breaths of the sea-air.

Shanks grinned, throwing himself on the gasping youth. "I'm parched. How about you, Ace? Then I was thinking maybe some eggs benedict, smoked fish, and doughnuts."

The look Ace gave him was priceless. It was full of horror as he choked out, "You're a monster, Shanks. You know that?"

"The marines seem to agree with you, boy." Yassop laughed, "Though not for his drinking habits. Doesn't Whitebeard drink a lot? How is this new for you?"

"That's different! It's _Oyaji!_ Besides, the nurses are always taking away his sake..." His eyebrows scrunched up as he looked at Shanks. In a serious tone he asked, "How are you not _dead?_"

Yasopp bristled even as Shanks started to laugh like it was the best joke he'd ever heard. "Hey! What the hell kind of question is that? Are you threatening my captain?"

Ace shook his head, "No, nonono! Just, Oyaji has liver problems and shit, right? Oyaji's a big guy, too. And I _know_ Shanks can keep up with him drinking. Everyone knows that. So I've got to ask...how come you aren't dead yet? Alcohol poisoning should have done you in years ago, Shanks! You drink sake like Namur breathes water! It's creepy."

"What's creepy?" The three of them looked down to see Luffy staring up at them with wide eyes, hands full of seagull feathers. Yassop didn't want to know where they'd come from.

"Gramps in a pink tutu." Ace answered, not missing a beat. Luffy blinked, then his mouth formed an 'O' even as Shanks and Yassop both shuddered.

"Why would it be pink? Pink is a girly color." Luffy looked confused.

"It was the only color left. Clashed with his hair, though." He pushed Shanks off him and reached into the little pouch on his leg.

All three of them watched as the young man pulled out a photo and showed it to them. Yassop was confused. He'd been expecting a photo of Garp for some reason. The man in the photo was much too old to be the Marine _he _knew, though looking closer, there was an uncanny similarity. The aging man seemed unconcerned with the baby-doll pink tutu he was wearing over his marine clothes, the same seeming true of the ballet slippers on his feet. It was, in part, even more terrifying how nonchalant he was. His hair was a silvery gray, cut military short, a style that was starting to fall out of favor. He had a beard and mustache that framed very white teeth as he grinned at the people fleeing before him. The image was disconcertingly similar to what Garp would do, the only difference being a decade or so in age between the two marines. Yassop felt a creeping understanding beginning to sink into his mind. Shanks took the picture for a closer look.

The red head whistled, "Nice. How'd you manage this one?"

"Birthday present, not sure about the slippers, though. He ends up wearing whatever I send for a few weeks till it gets in the paper. That way Gramps knows I'll see it, at least. I have to say, it was funny as hell when the headliner was '_Pirates Run From Vice Admiral Tutu_' and '_Garp joined Okama? Sengoku Refuses to Comment._' Thought I was going to die laughing. Thatch is pushing for a dog mask, but we've got to find one that'll work. I was thinking fairy wings this year. Big glittery ones. Yellow." The young man took the picture back with a grin.

"Gramps hates yellow..." Luffy pointed out before laughing, "Do it! Do it do it do it! It'll be so awesome!"

Ace crouched down in front of the excited little boy, "Well, it's a ways away still...Hey, wanna help me design the wings? Then Izou can make them for me."

"YES! RICKY! Ricky~ Where's the glitter?" Luffy shouted running towards where the ships doctor was just emerging on deck, a cup of coffee in hand.

"If only you knew how often that sentence has gotten me in trouble," Ace laughed, "Well, I'm off to be _fabulous!_" He winced, rubbing his head, "And maybe get some coffee...hangover. Forgot about that for a second."

Yassop stared at the grinning skull on his back as he walked away, almost not feeling Shanks drop his arm around him. His brain was doing its best impression of a fatal error screen. It all made sense. The captain's familiarity, his general unconcern for _their_ Ace, Luffy's friendliness… "That picture...it-" He trailed off, shaking his head. His eyes were wide. "B-But….he's a_ Whitebeard, _Shanks! _Whitebeard!_"

"That was kind of my reaction, too." His captain chuckled. "I think you and I need to have a bit of a chat, huh? Congratulations by the way. You're number four."

Yassop turned and blinked at him, still trying to wrap his head around the impossibility of it all, "Huh?"

"Come on. Ricky and I beat you in figuring it out, my friend." Shanks gently lead him towards the aft of the ship for their conversation.

"Why four?" he asked after a while, once they were away from any prying eyes.

Shanks looked away, a pout on his face before answering, "...Well, at least you beat Benn, right?!"

"Luffy?" It made sense, or it would if any of this did. Luffy _was_ his little brother, after all. Crap, his head was starting to hurt.

His captain leveled a haughty look at him, ignoring the comment, "We're not talking about how I, no, _we _lost a battle of wits to Luffy. Ever. We beat Benn. Go us!"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Kitsune here with the next chapter! Let me just tell you this one was a real pain to write. If I wasn't getting sidetracked (thank you, Burning Rubber and awesome stories by other people) then I was hitting a wall of writers block. Lucky Roo really didn't get a lot of screen time, so there wasn't a lot to work with to build him up from and I wanted to do him justice...I'm not sure how well that worked though. But I tried! Anyway, I've got another story out there you guys might care about. It's called "Oh God, My Eyes" and the reason I'm bringing it up is because it was inspired by the last chapter of Reverse Tide. You all remember Garp's uh...unique birthday present right? Well, it's going to be a series of one-shots on those presents. Please feel free to give it a read!**_

_**Question of the chapter: "How many books have you read at once?" Um, my record is something like four or five. Currently I'm reading two at once. Dresden Book 1, and "Elephants on Acid".**_

* * *

Roo knew he wasn't very good with kids...in fact most of the crew would admit to being pretty horrible with children. Ace was different, though. He never really acted like a child, but then again, Luffy did enough of that for the both of them. Most children mocked him, and when they realized he was a pirate, they became scared. He never really understood that. To him, Shanks, Benn and Yasopp were much scarier. That was kids for you, though. Ace had taken one look at him and promptly told him that if he wanted to eat dinner at their house, he'd have to bring his own meat. Luffy, of course, was his own brand of special. He could see why Shanks was so fond of the kids.

Now, most people might think Roo was too busy stuffing his face to be paying attention to what was going on around him. It tended to be a deadly mistake to make, he was proud to say. Other crews might have found his excessive eating and drinking problematic, but not the Red Haired pirates; here he fit right in. His captain was the biggest drunkard on the seas anyway. Lucky respected him and would follow him to hell and back. He'd already done so on a few occasions, after all. Like the mad dash to rescue their Ace. That had been true hell, and the constant fear and panic the boy had been in even after they had rescued him had been even worse than hell.

This, though, he was still trying to figure out what this was as he chewed away on another joint of meat. _End of the world_. He mused. _It's got to be_. There was nothing else it could be. First Ace vanished, then some random stranger shows up with the same name. Luffy falling for his 'nice guy' act was to be expected. The boy was as trusting as a puppy. _A hungry, always stealing my meat puppy, but that's Luffy._ He snorted, watching as that very same boy went running by with some old rope. After a silent debate, he followed. Whatever the little fool was up to, it was bound to be entertaining. It didn't come as a shock when he saw the stranger, this 'other' Ace was waiting for Luffy.

_First Shanks, then Ricky... Maybe little Ace' s mental break is contagious_. Roo mused as he sat on a barrel to unobtrusively watch the goings on. He frowned as the two appeared as if summoned by his thoughts. "Captain."

"Oh, hey there, Lucky! Care to join us?" Shanks grinned at him, "We thought we'd have a bit of a picnic on deck."

"I still don't see what the rope is for." Lucky Roo questioned, gesturing with his joint of meat at the pile of thick braided cords.

Yasopp sighed, coming up to where the four were now standing, carrying a heavily laden basket "Ace, if you don't know how to tie knots at this point, it'd be too embarrassing to teach you."

The young man laughed, "Hey! What do you take me for? Luffy wanted to play with it, and I figured so long as he didn't hang himself it wasn't a problem."

"...Right. Like you weren't thinking about making a leash for him," The sniper shot back. "Actually, that's a good idea. Hey Luffy, Come 'ere a sec. I wanna show you something."

Now Yasopp? Roo hesitated a moment before heading to join them, carefully putting Luffy out of his friend's reach while he did so. If he didn't know any better, he'd think this guy's devil fruit really was some kind of mind altering... _shit, what if this is some kind of Marine mind control?_ He glared at the orange hat from behind his goggles. Come to think of it, the guy looked a lot like those creepy drawings Ace had done, too, which was seriously freaking Roo out.

"So, anyway, as I was saying, there's this one Marine I seriously can't wait to go toe to toe with. Course, the bastard never leaves Loguetown now, and so it's going to have to wait. But MAN the fight is going to be seriously epic. Thatch is already taking bets, you know?"

"Slow down, slow down!" Laughed Ricky as the food was divvied up, "Who is this marine that's got you so worked up?"

"Smoker. He's a Logia type, Moku Moku no Mi. So he's made of..."

"Smoke. I think I've heard of him. Guy's a pain-in-the-ass rookie right now, just got his fruit a few weeks back." Shanks raised an eyebrow at him, "You sure he's all that?"

"Oh yeah. He's good. Total badass. Hell, guy's more pirate than marine." Ace grinned, full of mischief. "But again, he's stationed in Loguetown and I'm usually in the new world, so..."

"You could always make a special trip." Yassop pointed out. "If it means so much to you."

His smile was ridiculously happy, Ace shook his head. "Can't. Pops said it would void the bet. Apparently he's taking part. Sneaky old man." He snagged an apple.

Roo snorted around his meat, earning a look. He shrugged, speaking up for the first time, "Typical of a devil fruit user. What about all those out there without powers? Bet you're a one trick kind of guy."

"Hey! That was a bit uncalled for, Lucky." Yasopp admonished, "Not all of them are like that."

"A lot are though." Shanks nodded his agreement. "So kid? Which kind are you?"

"Uh, first off, ouch. I'm hurt by that biased remark. Really, Shanks. Secondly, since sea stone negates my powers, I'd be a fool to just rely on them." He brushed back the hair that had fallen in his face and took a swig from his stein.

Ricky made a fast dive to protect his own plate from Luffy's roaming hands. "I see you're as good as ever at deflecting questions."

The youngest pirate flapped a hand at him. "I'm just thinking about how to answer. I mean...Fishman Karate is kind of like a special ability, right? And Haki. But I've fought people who use both. And some of my brothers on ship give me a real run for my money without the use of powers. Not including Marco. That guy cheats, you know. Can't even call him on it because he goes 'Pirate, yoi.' How can I argue with that?"

Even Lucky joined in the laughter. When they'd calmed down some, Shanks slapped the man's shoulder agreeing. "You can't! Tell me more about those you've fought. A fishman, right? This 'Numar' guy on the crew?"

"Namur." He corrected. "Mmm, not quite. He's still learning." Ace paused, putting more meat on Luffy's plate before taking some as well. "Chew this time. Jinbe."

Yasopp's drink spilled across the deck as his mug fell from his limp hand, "Woah, woah! Hold on there, you can't mean Jinbe of the Sun Pirates? There's talk of him becoming a Shichibukai! You don't just fight them!"

The younger pirate looked up, still chewing as everyone watched him. He shrugged a shoulder and nodded, still chewing.

"I don't know why we're surprised, the fool went after Whitebeard for crying out loud. Newgate's probably the only reason he's still alive after facing Jinbe." Shanks began only to be interrupted.

"Fought him before I joined up with Oyaji. He's brutal in a fight. Think he was pissed about the whole me going after Whitebeard thing...or it could have been telling the marines to shove it when they asked me to be a Shichibukai." He blinked, "Oops. I didn't just say that, alright?" There was a moment of awkward silence that followed that statement, broken when Luffy started to choke on his meat. In a panic Ace and Ricky rushed to the boy's side in an attempt to help him.

Lucky Roo just sat there, watching the young man. He hadn't heard of this kid before, let alone him being offered a position of Shichibukai, but it wasn't entirely impossible he supposed. There were tons of pirates out there who were not Shichibukai, but still spied for the marines anyway...his gaze sharpened. It made sense. The convenient timing, the fact the guy showed up alone. _He's a plant on Whitebeard's ship._ _They sent him here because the Captain respects Whitebeard too much to do anything to his crew!_

"LUFFY! I told you to chew! Gesh, don't do that to me, little man. Are you trying to give me heart failure?" The young man sighed, hugging the boy close to him. Of course he'd be worried; it's Garp's grandson.

"Shihsihihi, sorry, Ace..." The boy smiled brightly up at him before diving right back into the food as if nothing had happened.

* * *

It was late, and the ship was for the most part silent when Lucky let himself out of Benn's room. He'd had to wait all day, sitting on what he suspected, unable to catch the man alone. It wouldn't do to voice his thoughts with the rest of the crew around and cause a panic just in case he was wrong. Not that he thought he was wrong with how suspicious this Ace character was acting. So, he'd waited all day and well into the night. Thankfully, having an idiot of a captain meant that Benn pulled a lot of late nights doing reports that Shanks frankly refused to do. The man had seemed a bit surprised to see him at his door, though.

Roo had quickly and succinctly recapped what the other had missed that day, including Yassop's joining of the 'Ace fanclub' as Benn called it. He then went on to lay out his thoughts. He wasn't the ships foremost information gatherer for nothing, after all. Part of him had been hoping his friend would tell him he was wrong. That while there was definitely something off about the lad, there was no way he'd be a spy. The guy was strangely likable, after all. Of course, that was part of his charm and why he was so effective. Benn's expression had turned stormy however and cursed profusely. He'd thanked Lucky for the information and asked him to keep a sharp eye on the man, suggesting he'd take care of the situation the next day.

Roo left feeling oddly unsettled and dissatisfied. It was a weird feeling. Normally, he'd leave a meeting like that feeling accomplished and proud of the work he did for the crew, but this time, he felt...vaguely guilty. With a sigh, he went on deck. It was a beautiful night, clear, not too warm, not too cold, with just a hint of a breeze. The stars are always amazing at sea, he thought as he stood silently on deck collecting his thoughts. He knew he'd done nothing wrong, yet he still felt guilty. It was very annoying, since all Roo was doing was protecting his crew.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the door open. Instinct alone made him dive behind the mast and out of sight as he was joined on deck. He risked a peek when he didn't recognize the sound of the footsteps on the worn planks. It was the very man who was causing all the turmoil on board. He was alone as he paced the deck briefly before heading to the rail and leaning heavily on it. It was obvious from where Roo was standing Ace was eyeing up one of the lifeboats. The younger pirate made a sound that was halfway between a snort and a laugh before looking out at the sea instead, a little more relaxed.

"Thinking about running, Ace?" Roo found himself asking. The youth jumped a bit, head coming up to locate him. _Might as well confront him now, might get some answers. It's not like it can hurt_. He mused stepping out from the shadows on deck and walking over to the smaller man.

"Oh, hey Roo. Didn't see you there. What's up, you out of meat or something?" Ace smiled. Roo just frowned in reply. "Ch. You're no fun."

"So you planning on vanishing into the night then?"

"...Let me ask you something. Hypothetically speaking," the other began, "If you knew that in time someone was going to cause a lot of problems, but before that they may or may not have been useful, would you hunt them down and kill them? Assuming you could find them, that is."

His stomach dropped,_ he's talking about our Ace, isn't he?_ "No, I wouldn't. Everyone deserves a chance. And you can't know that they're going to cause problems."

Ace smirked sardonically at him, "Wanna bet on that?"

"Why are you here?" Lucky snapped back. "Or should I say who are you here for?"

"Well, if it'd had been a week ago or so, I could answer that question," He turned back to the sea, "but it looks like I missed my chance to kill that bastard. Again. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not."

He felt a rush of relief. No matter where Ace, their Ace, had gotten to, this man hadn't had anything to do with it. "Not. Definitely not. Keep talking like that, spy, and I'll save Benn the trouble."

"Wh...?" Gray eyes made even darker by the night widened in shock as the young man gaped at him.

"Yeah, we're on to you, you dog of the marines..."

"Woah! Slow down! Seriously? You think I'm a spy? For the marines? Why would I do that, Roo? I _hate_ the Marines! I always have! Well, except for Gramps, but that's different. I still don't like him." Ace sputtered, "I'm really hurt that you'd even suggest that. After all they've put me though, Lucky..."

"You were sent here to back up Hare though, right?"

"Oh, _fuck_ no!" Rage, pure unadulterated rage transformed his face, making Roo take an uneasy step back, "I want that man dead so bad _it hurts_. No one want's him gone more than me. Should have listened to Cheshire back then, but I didn't so now I'm paying for it."

The comment about being a week too late made sense now. Roo almost sighed in relief, "Well, you missed your chance. Our little Ace did him in, good and proper. Knife to the-"

"No I didn't!" Ace cut him off, glaring. "He wasn't dead when he hit the water! I'd thought the knife went deep enough, sure that I'd hit his brain, but I should have made sure. Now I'm paying for it, just like Cheshire said I would. I can't hunt him down because I don't know where the hell he is! Do I warn Whitebeard not to trust the snake now? But what if he was actually helpful all those years? I don't know enough to say, and Oyaji's got no reason to trust me now, he doesn't even know me yet. And I'm certain he doesn't know what Hare's capable of. He doesn't even know what Hare did to me, and he calls me son! It's eating me alive at night, Roo, and I don't know what the hell to do!"

He ended his rant holding his head between his hands, looking miserable. Lucky's brain was whirling, putting everything together. He knew for a fact that though the crew had mentioned little Ace frequently, no one, not a single person had brought up what the boy had gone through recently. Nor had Hare been brought up once. _There's no way that he'd know how Ace killed him unless he was there. And only a few of us know about Wonderland. I don't care how snowed he's got them, they'd never tell him about it... _He noticed the worn sheath at the man's hip and wondered why he hadn't recognized it before. He'd never gotten a good look at the blade Ace had used that day, but the sheath was something he'd won in a poker game. It was a lot more worn than he remembered.

Lucky sighed looking at the man that their Ace had become. "This is one of those things that if I think about it too much, my head is going to really hurt, isn't it?"

The young man gave a wet sounding chuckle. "Probably." Ace looked up at him.

"Is there a reason we're hiding it?" He couldn't help but ask.

"At first I really didn't realize it...and then it didn't seem like a good idea to bring up that I'm from the future. Shanks is having fun, though."

"So, the Captain put you up to it then." Roo shook his head, "Someone needs to tell Benn, you know. Before he strings you up."

Ace just grinned in reply, obviously enjoying idea of a challenge. "He can try."


	8. Chapter 8

_***Insert evil laugh* Muwahahahahahaha! TWO updates tonight! Super bowl my butt. I spent the day writing and editing. So, first off, a BIG (SERIOUSLY BIG) thanks goes out to Mountain97 who donated time and energy to help write this chapter. You heard that right, people. I was so nervous about doing a good job on this chapter I asked if Mountain97 would be willing to help out from page one...and I have to say, this is the most fun I have had writing in a while. It's been a long time since I did a collaboration... *misses old writing partners...sighs*...anyway. The chapter kind of just, well. Exploded. Took off running. You know. I also want to give another thanks to OperaRose94 for donating a poem, since frankly, I suck at poetry. I've only used part of it...I loved the whole thing, though. MMMM, I think that does it for the thanks and such...**_

_**I'm on a bit of a 'recommend stuff' kick, so I'll suggest the authors Anjelle, Eradona, Delta-Wish and Auntie-Nadeshiko. All are very entertaining, though Eradona writes Bleach-Harry Potter and not One Piece...still, it's epic.**_

_**Question of the chapter: "Have you ever done a Shared Doc?" Yep. That's how this chapter got written! It's fun; you can see the other person write and talk to them at the same time. When they're editing your spelling (which happened to me a lot! I can't spell for shit and usually I don't share until I've edited a few times) it's a little weird looking.**_

* * *

Ace leaned against the mast, watching as Luffy played with Shanks. It was still early, and the young man had not gotten much sleep the night before. After his talk with Lucky Roo he'd made his way back to the small room he shared with Luffy. The younger version of his brother had been sound asleep, something Ace was thankful for as he spent the rest of the wee hours wide awake. Sleep only brought nightmares of late. Nightmares where he saw Hare doing his worst to Ace's family. It had been going on for a while now and Ace was beginning to feel the strain of sleepless nights.

"The stress is going to kill me." He muttered to himself as he reached for his cup of very black coffee. The worst part was there was no one on board he could trust enough to talk to about what was going on. If Serpent had _really_ been there, she'd probably scoff at him...but without his friend it was hard to remember why he shouldn't be worried.

For all that the cat complained that talking to her was like talking to himself, she really put things into perspective for him. Naturally he'd gone looking for her that very first night the moment Luffy had drifted off to sleep. He'd even used the search for his hat as a chance to find her, not to mention the innumerable games of hide-and-seek. Unfortunately, where Luffy's presence was evident everywhere on the ship, he couldn't even find a single wisp of black fur aboard the _East Wind_. It struck him as a highly unfair trade off. Though he was thrilled to see Luffy, _any version of Luffy_, all Ace had gotten for his trouble was suspicious glares from a crew that he thought of as family. Ironic and humorous, but not particularly helpful.

Like the whole issue with Benn. Ace had honestly expected the man to be the fi...well the se...ok, so the third person to figure it out. "Luffy shouldn't even be first. The kid's _special..._" he chucked into his cup.

With a sigh, he once again discarded the issues that were plaguing him, even though part of him was screaming that it was _a really bad idea_ to ignore them. Luffy seemed to be happily occupied in whatever freeform game Shanks had come up with, though Ace figured it was more of a 'tease Luffy' kind of thing. Seeing that he wouldn't be missed for a while at least, he settled into a vaguely more comfortable position against the mast. One of the good things about being a narcoleptic pirate was how comfortable he could be in just about any position. As an added bonus, with the whole being made of fire thing he didn't even have to worry about splinters.

Once comfortable, Ace blindly reached into his pouch, knowing exactly what would help put him at ease. When he pulled out a much loved, battered brown leather book he couldn't help the fond smile that graced his lips. He was pretty sure Marco and Thatch knew about the book's existence at least, but his two friends had never asked to see what was in it. In a way, Ace was glad of it. If he had told them, he would have had to explain everything...though looking back on the events over the last few weeks, that might have been the better idea. He'd long ago memorized every single poem between the two covers, but there was a certain grace in actually running eyes over the words of his long-gone brother. Most of the works were very deep, but even if he didn't devote his full mind to a complete understanding of the poem the words were still beautiful and could relax Ace when not much else could.

**Return**

The light is gone now, dear

And we are the sunset-bound.

Needs must flee the wintry dark

Only

The honeysuckle twilight will clasp the locket chain

Just a moment too long,

Cling to the glass.

Take my hand

As peach is overrun to blood-red stillness

Blade-clouds etched in gold to pierce the feet of wandering angels.

(Can angels bleed, I wonder,

hush the thought, I must be

butterfly for you)

Do you feel me, darling,

In my own play on heat?

Pretty warmth beneath the vastness, dark and weightless

clearly visible through blue.

My five fingers, too, delicately cup their own world.

Sprinkle of baby's breath,

scent of a rose,

dew from the stems there, colder than I

evaporates even in this darkening

(Now deep in lilac's throat, lodged not quite to somber.

But faded just so that-

A shadow interrupted Ace's reading, blocking the sunlight that had previously illuminated the page. Ace's gray eyes watered as he looked up from his battered little book to see who was blocking his light. The sun was directly behind the figure, so it took a moment for the young man to place the other as the first mate. Using his finger to hold his place as his arm dropped across his knees he grinned up at Benn, "Hey there. What can I do for _you_ this fine morning?"

Benn glowered at him silently for a moment. Realizing that he wasn't going to get any more reading done, Ace sighed again and closed the book. In the hope that the man would say his piece and _go away_ he didn't put it away, instead leaving it on the deck right next to him, a silent show that he hoped this confrontation wouldn't last long. As his calloused fingers lovingly caressed the cover he returned the glare and noticed Benn's stiffened posture. It was confusing until Ace remembered that the other thought he was something of a marine spy. The whole thing was so ludicrous he couldn't help the sardonic smirk that blossomed to life on his face.

"Where did you get that?" Benn growled out.

Ace blinked, "Huh?" he looked down, seeing the book and his coffee. "Uh, the kitchen? Did I drink the last pot or something?"

"Don't play coy with me!"

"Man, what is your _problem_ Benn? It's just coffee! Gesh, you can have it if it means that much to-"

The older man snapped, cutting him off with a wave of killer intent, "The _BOOK! _Where did you get the _book_, you scumbag!"

Ace blinked, his mind going blank for a moment. He attributed his eloquent response to lack of sleep, "Huh?"

"I know that book. It's _Ace's_. There is no way the boy would let it out of his sight. So how the _hell_ did you get it?" The first mate reached down to pick up the book, and Ace reacted instantly.

Before Ace was even aware he'd moved, the book was in his hand and his knife was out; a clear warning. "Don't touch my book!"

The taller man loomed in front of him, disregarding the blade and Ace was at a loss, "_Your_ book?! You stole it! What? You wanted a souvenir for catching a poor kid? Stuck around to see who else you could snag, too. Gutsy of you, but it's not going to work. I'm not going to _let_ you hurt this crew! When the Captain sees this, he'll know what you are!" Benn had apparently learned from their scuffle a few days ago, or Ace just wasn't at the top of his game. Whatever the reason, the older pirate quickly relieved him of Sabo's book.

_My book!_ It felt like Benn had snatched his beating heart right out of his chest and not some worn and battered text. He couldn't take his eyes off his only physical connection to a past he didn't want to remember but couldn't afford to forget. _Not that I'd ever forget Sabo._ "Give it back!"

"This? Like hell I'll give anything to a marine dog like you!" Benn opened the cover, looking for who-knows-what before closing it again. His expression was triumphant and disgusted at the same time as he turned to walk away.

"I SAID _GIVE IT BACK!_" Benn was taken by surprise when one hundred and seventy pounds of pissed off pirate slammed into his back with all the fury of a hellcat. Ace threw himself at Benn, disregarding his devil fruit in favor of raw fury. The other pirate was carried to the ground by the impact and in an instant Ace was on top of him, pinning him to the deck. His face was a mask of complete rage, no part of his reasoning mind telling him to not irreparably maul the first mate. The only functioning part of his logical mind still working was telling him not to use his devil fruit not out of fear for the other pirate, but for the safety of the book. Ace would risk no harm to it, even if it meant losing an advantage in a fight.

Benn was too shocked in that first instant to fight back, and his head impacting with the wood of the deck didn't aid his thought process. Once his brain came back online, though, he didn't hesitate to start fighting back. He'd expected his fist to pass through the other man, much like in the aborted fight beforehand. He was stunned when his right hook collided with a resounding _**smack **_against the other. The reason why was unimportant as he returned the attack, blow for blow. Instinct told the man that as his opponent was a Logia type, he had an advantage in a physical confrontation. Benn used his greater strength to throw the smaller man off him, only to find the other had a steel-like grip around his wrist. The momentum of the toss sent them both rolling across the deck, limbs flailing as both struggled to halt the other.

Ace avoided another debilitating blow to his head as they rolled to a stop. Part of his mind pointed out that he'd foolishly dropped his knife at some point. He ignored it in favor of kicking at his _enemy's _unprotected middle while he contemplated biting off the digits holding _his _book-_ah. That's why the knife was important_. Something in his look must have clued Benn in as he hauled off and sucker-punched Ace right in the nose, causing him to reel back for just a moment with a curse. He was only then aware of the gathering crowd, and he snarled at them through his bloody nose. Shanks was standing a ways off to the side, and looked somewhere between shock, thinking this was all a joke, and wanting to intervene. He had just enough time to see the Captain hand Luffy off to Yassop before he found himself flipped into the air to land on his back. Dazed and temporarily winded he managed a few un-coordinated swipes before finding himself expertly pinned with a gun against his head.

The silence was deafening, palpable even over the roaring in Ace's ears. It was only then that it dawned on him just how noisy they had been during the fight. He could hear the squeaking of the ropes against the tension of the sails, even. The sound of the flintlock pistol being cocked was impossible to miss. Before Benn could even think about using it, however, Ace decided he wasn't done yet. He swung one leg out, kicking his formerly forgotten coffee cup hard enough into the mast to shatter it. Benn reacted instinctively to the noise, and in the moment of distraction Ace kneed him hard in the stomach, ducking in case Benn unconsciously pulled the trigger.

Benn grunted from the blow, and Ace wasted no time shoving back against his weight. He sent the two of them rolling again, and Ace hooked one leg around both of Benn's, halting their movement with him on top, straddling Benn's waist and pinning his legs.

During the roll he'd decided it was time to use his last advantage and had snapped his wrist back, the hidden blade strapped to the underside of his arm sliding into position with well-maintained ease. He hadn't had time to figure out a way to disarm Benn, though. He'd hoped that maybe the blow to the stomach would get him to drop the gun or loosen his grip enough that the roll would tear it from his grasp, but neither proved true.

The two of them sat in perfect stillness, Ace with one hand wrapped about Benn's throat, keeping his head and torso still with a grip that was nearly strangulating, his other arm holding the blade a centimeter from one of Benn's eyes. Benn lay beneath him, gun cocked and ready to fire, end of the barrel directly against Ace's forehead. He had a grip on Ace's wrist, the one about his throat, holding Ace back enough that the hand wasn't suffocating.

They were left staring at each other, neither moving for caution of the other. The book that had started the fight lay a short distance away, forgotten as the two remained frozen. The whole ship seemed to hold it's breath; waiting for a break in the unspeakable act. Fighting was one thing, but this? Two people, close as nakama, close as _family_ about to _kill _ each other? The tension hung in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Just what," A voice spoke somewhere in the crowd, "in the _ever LOVING HELL_ do you two think you're doing?"

"He's a marine spy, Shanks." Benn growled out around the grip on his throat. If possible, his glare intensified. "I caught him red-handed with Ace's book."

"You _fucking stole_ my book!" Ace was snarling down at Benn, his glare equally livid.

"Ace! Stop it. He didn't steal your book. It's right here..." Ace's head instantly snapped toward the captain and something inside Ace told him that it was wrong the way Shanks flinched when he turned to look at him. He didn't touch the book, however, and that was all that mattered. "See? It's fine. Now _let go_ of my first mate. You're scaring Luffy."

Benn snorted. "Like he _cares._ If that bastard honestly gave a shit about scaring kids, do you think he would have kidnapped our Ace?" The knife inched closer to his eye.

Shanks made a strangled noise. "_Not_ helping Benn. Just...Shut up. Shut up and put your gun down, alright?"

"Not till you get this psychotic freak off me."

"I'm _not crazy!_ You know what? Screw you, Benn. You're the crazy bastard seeing spies everywhere! Would it _kill you_ to trust someone?"

"Who? _YOU?_ Like hell!"

Ace vaguely heard Ricky's sarcastic comment over his anger. "Oh good, they're talking..."

"If you won't trust me, then why not, oh, say, _your captain?! _Huh? How about that, Benn?"

"You've got him brainwashed!"

"Wha-? Of all the stupid asinine _bullshit_ I've heard, I think you've managed to top the list! What are you, like, _five?_ How would that even work? You already know what my devil fruit is! I'm a Logia-type, dumbass! Do I have to spell _everything_ out for you?" Ace was on a roll as he sat back, using his dagger as a pointer. "Even _Luffy_ figured it out!"

Benn struggled beneath him, attempting to dislodge Ace while still maintaining his hold on the gun. "Don't you point that at Luffy!"

"I'll point whatever I _damn_ _well please_ at Luffy! _You_, my good sir, are _not_ the boss of me." Ace was feeling a bit smug about the fact, actually. Benn had always tried to be the voice of reason while he was growing up.

"Get the hell off me!"

"Not until you say please!"

"Children, please!" Shanks' tone put a stop to their squabbling at once. Both were intimately familiar with the 'Mad-pirate-going-to-kill-marine' tone, just not normally directed at them. Alright, in _Benn's_ case it wasn't usually directed at him. Ace, on the other hand, heard it a lot on the _Moby Dick_ with his name attached. He'd just never really heard Shanks use that tone with him. Both turned and looked at the Captain, expressions torn between shock and mutiny. "Now that I have your attention _again_," the man glared at them. "Ace. Off Benn. Now."

"But-!"

"NOW!" It was a little unfair at how effective that tone was when used by Shanks. It was a bit like arguing with _Oyaji_, which is to say, there was no argument. Ace stood and took a few steps back, glowering as Benn shot to his feet.

"Captain, we need to throw this bastard in the bri-"

"Benn. Gun away." Shanks cut him off. Before Benn could even protest he leveled a look at his first mate and repeated, "Gun. Away. Benn. Now, I want you two to shake hands and make up."

"Bullshit. I want this snake off the ship, Shanks. Either send him back to where he belongs or send him back to Whitebeard. Let it be _his_ problem."

Ace flexed his hands, flames leaping to life, "Call me a problem again, Beckman, and I'll torch your ass."

"Heh, you didn't do so well with that the last time, hot shot." Benn cracked his knuckles in response, clearly ready to go at it again. Ace sneered at him.

"Didn't want you to hurt your back, _geezer._"

"If you two do _NOT_ stop it right now, I'm going to throw you _both_ off this ship! And Benn, so help me, I'll tie you to an anchor first just to make it fair. KNOCK IT OFF!" Shanks shouted at the two of them. Ace didn't doubt the threat for a minute, either. Apparently Benn believed it too, as the man shut up instantly. "That's better. You know what? I'm sick of this. It's _definitely _not funny anymore when you two are at each other's throats-"

"He started it!"

"Ace!" The captain took a deep calming breath, and then another before he continued, "I don't care who started it. _I'm_ finishing it. Benn, Ace, _our_ Ace is a bit unavailable at the moment. I'm sure he'll be back eventually, though."

"_Eventually?!"_

"Until then, it's in our best interest to _not_ kill, maim or otherwise damage _this_ Ace."

"He's blackmailing you, isn't he?!" Shanks continued as if Benn hadn't interrupted.

"Because when Whitebeard finds out in ten years, he'll seriously kill _us._ Not to mention how horribly guilty you'll feel."

Benn's whole posture spoke of disbelief, "Why would I feel guilty about taking care of some double-dealing backstabbing marine dog? And what do you mean 'when Whitebeard finds out in ten years'? You honestly think you could hide it that long, Shanks?"

"Ace, show him."

Gray eyes rolled expressively. "First, I want to state _again_ for the record that I am not, nor have I ever been, a backstabbing marine dog. I _do_, however, cheat at cards."

"Get on with it, already!" Shanks snapped, at the end of his already limited patience.

"Fine, fine..." It wasn't too hard to figure out what Shanks meant. His blade was still out, and with one quick flick the bandages that had been coming loose on his upper arm fell to the deck.

He kept his attention on the blade as he allowed it to retract, daring to trust in Shanks to keep his crew from attacking him. He knew it wasn't likely, but with his blood up it was hard to ignore the little voice jabbering in his head. There wasn't a sound, and Ace found himself craving the comforting presence of Luffy against his legs to help keep him grounded as he dragged his eyes up. Everyone was looking at him, and he shifted nervously. Now that he'd had a moment to calm down, he didn't _want_ to fight. _If they rush me, I'm dead. Enough know Haki to be a real pain in the ass, not to mention I'd never actually _hurt_ them. _Benn took a step forward, his arm swinging out and Ace couldn't help the flinch when his shadow crossed his face. All the man did however, was grab his left arm and turn it, staring at it with consternation.

"Why did you hide this? Were you ashamed?" Benn didn't sound angry, not really...he wasn't sure how he sounded.

"What? Going to accuse me of writing my victims' names on my body now?" He lashed out, trying to pull his arm away.

The man didn't let go. Instead he traced over the letters, drawing out an involuntary shiver. "No. I'd assume you know how to spell ACE. _Why_ were you hiding it?" softer he said, "Why did you get it in the first place?"

"It's none of your damn business! It's _mine_. Like the book is _mine._ And I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your hands off _both of them!_" He finally managed to pull his arm free and rubbed the ink on his skin, trying to settle the twitching muscles. "God, you're always like this, Benn! This is why I don't tell you anything. You're just so...so damn...GAH!"

"So what? Worried about the safety of my crew?"

"_No_. So judgemental! Not _everything_ I do is gonna end up with marines riding my ass..." Ace flinched minutely at his own words. "Ok bad choice of words, but still. I'm not some idiot, I know what I'm doing! And besides, I'm not just a victim. I'm a _hell_ of a lot harder to take on now than I was all those years ago." Rubbing his head he looked up at the sails and continued the thought in perfect Armenian. "Stupid _infuriating_ irritating uncle who thinks he knows what everyone needs! Let a guy have his own adventure once and awhile, yeah? Have a little faith that I'm not a _complete_ broken mess, will you?" Ace glared at a passing cloud. "And I want my damn cat, too!"

"How the hell do you speak Armenian?" Everyone was looking at him a little funny as Benn asked.

"I learned it from a book. It belonged to this _really annoying_ guy with a smoking habit." Ace cocked his head to the side and looked at Benn, "Come to think of it, he could use a haircut, too."

The man crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in. "Why do I get the feeling you're making fun of me?"

"Me? Make fun of _you?_ Never." Ace snorted. "Might as well mock a wall."

"Oh for the..." Shank growled out, shoving his way between the two of them with an air of complete exasperation, "Benn, stop being deliberately dense. And Ace, stop being..." Shanks shook his head in exasperation. "Just stop."

The teen smiled sweetly, "Stop what?"

"You _know_ what! When did you turn into such a cocky prick?"

"Oh...somewhere between eating a devil fruit and trying to take out Oyaji."

"_This_ is what you let on the ship, Shanks? And I resent you accusing me of being deliberately obtuse."

"He said _dense_ not _obtuse_. Besides, you are. Again, _Luffy_ figured it out." Ace rolled his eyes again, wondering where his little brother was, anyway.

"Figured _what_ out? That you work for his grandfather?" Ace saw Roo facepalm out of the corner of his eye.

"AH! Don't even suggest something that terrifying! Are you trying to give me heart failure? Benn, I seriously don't know how to make it any more clear to you..." Four voices interrupted him.

"Ace _is_ Portgas, dumbass!" Yassop groused.

Lucky Roo's cried out in exasperation, "How 'bout 'I'm Portgas D. Ace'?"

"Bone structure doesn't lie! He's Portgas, Benn!" surprisingly a cup came flying at the man from Ricky's direction.

Shanks took advantage how how close he was and smacked his first mate upside the head, " You think I wouldn't recognize Portgas D. Ace? Moron! _Baka!_ No matter how he looks, Ace is _still _Ace!"

Benn looked a little dazed and angry, "This? This guy isn't our Ace! Obviously he's much too old! He's at least eight..."

"Ten." Ace corrected.

"Thank you. Ten years too old to be Ace. I'll grant he has a passing resemblance to the boy, but..." the man trailed off, feeling everyone glaring at him. The look he gave Ace was more assessing than it had been before.

"See? Deliberately dense."

"Alright. How then?"

"Long story short?" Shanks snorted, "Poking at stuff he shouldn't have been. Again."

"Uh-huh..."

"Look, I don't know how you want me to prove it." Ace finally snapped, "I don't have any scars to show you, you think _I stole my own book, _and anything I tell you about what happened you'll assume a marine told me. You want me off the ship? _Fine!_ I'm gone. But it'll be on _your_ head when the other me comes back and finds himself on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. Alone. Again. I've got enough abandonment issues at _my_ age, and I've had a decade to adjust. How do you think a ten year old with fresh trauma is going to react to that?"

The two glared at each other before Benn snapped out, "Name?"

"Ace. Portgas D. Ace."

"Mother?"

"Rouge."

"Father?"

"Whitebeard." Shanks glared at him. "What? _That man_ is NOT my father." Shanks still looked dissatisfied, but Ace didn't back down.

"Alright..." Benn just accepted the answer, deciding not to take it up as a point of conflict. There was just one thing still bugging Benn "But..." He trailed off, trying to think of the best way to state his question. "If you're Ace, why would you ever become a marine spy?"

Benn didn't quite manage to dodge the shoe Roo threw at his head.


End file.
